Isthmian South Central 21 April 2025
Met Police 0
Hanworth Villa 2
- Sam Mead (54’)
- Joe Peters (64’)
Match Report
Hanworth Villa will need just one point in our final league game against Horndean to seal a promotion play-off spot after a convincing 2-0 win over 10-man Met Police, courtesy of second-half strikes by Sam Mead and Joe Peters.
The victory was bittersweet though, as we lost Ben Mulley to a horrific tackle by Ayoub Enajar in the 11th minute which sparked heated altercations.
The match was suspended for an hour with Enajar shown a straight red card before an ambulance arrived to take Mulley to the hospital.
Manager Simon Haughney said: “It’s way over the top, it’s a leg breaker, isn’t it. Our thoughts at the moment go to Ben Mulley and obviously everyone’s a little bit angry about it. I think it’s more the reaction (of Enajar) that has caused the arguments in my opinion.
“As a club, we will get together and we will support him through this tough time. That’s all we can do at the moment. Because he’s put his body on the line I don’t know how many times for this club. He’s one of my best signings I’ve ever made.”
Villa remained fourth on 76 points, behind third-placed Ascot United on goal difference while Uxbridge on 79 points have already secured their top five spot. Kingstonian and Hayes & Yeading (both 75 points) are a point behind us and the only two teams still in contention for a play-off spot.
As Kingstonian host Ascot on the final day, a draw for Villa against Horndean at Rectory Meadow on April 26 will be enough to guarantee a top five finish.
Haughney said: “There was a lot on the line today. We lose, we’re out of it. If you look at our results against Met, we haven’t beaten them. They’re looking to play a low block, suck us in and go over the top on the counter.
“So I just wanted to get it to half time. I thought it was fantastic how we played against 10 men, minimal risk and posing a threat.”
A bright Villa start quickly turned sour in the 11th minute after Met Police’s Enajar showed completely zero intention to go for the ball and launched a horrific tackle on Mulley.
Enajar was rightfully shown his marching orders, and the game was suspended for one hour as a stricken Mulley received treatment on the pitch. Football has no place for such violence and everyone at Villa has Mulley in our thoughts as we wish him a speedy recovery.
About the players’ mood after the incident, Haughney added: “Well, it’s a very sombre dressing room at the start, a lot of quiet people obviously, when you see a break like that. There were a few tears in there.
“A lot of people a little bit shocked, but they wanted to carry on. They wanted to carry on for Ben, and they wanted to get the win for Ben. And I thought how they conducted themselves were fantastic. It’s all about the players today. Absolutely fantastic.”
The game eventually resumed with Met Police down to 10 men and Aston Nunn replacing Mulley. The hosts needed a point to confirm their status in the division, which clearly showed on the pitch as they defended deep in their own half in a 5-4-0 shape.
Substitute Nunn threw himself straight into the action in the 13th minute, delivering a pin-point cross towards the far post which just evaded Sam Mead.
Just before the half hour mark, Shane Dunne lifted a ball into the penalty box and nearly caught out Met Police goalkeeper Liam Beach who had to scramble to tip it over the bar.
Into the final five minutes of the first half, Dunne forced a goal-line clearance before Sam Merson and Ben Geraghty both had efforts that narrowly missed the target.
Villa came out after the interval with the same intensity, and were duly rewarded in the 54th minute.
A superb chipped through ball by Nunn found Dunne surging down the left flank, whose low cross towards the six-yard box found Mead who struck a first-time left-footed volley past Beach.
It was a long-awaited goal that sparked an outburst of emotion by everyone on and off the pitch. Dunne instantly ran over to embrace a fan behind the goal, while the travelling Villa fans seated in the stands jumped out of their seats in joy.
Ten minutes later, Peters gave us an unassailable two-goal advantage. Dunne’s corner found Mead, who back-heeled the ball for Peters to prod home right in front of goal.
Mark Smith was called into action for the first time in the 74th minute, and he did well to protect his near post by parrying Cadell Fraser Robinson’s strike from the left wing.
A minute later, Geraghty unleashed a stinging effort from the right edge of the penalty box but was denied by Beach. From the resulting corner, substitute Rayan Djouadj’s header was cleared off the line.
There was time for Haughney to bring Merson off in the 88th minute to a standing ovation from the Villa fans, as Dylan Randall took his place for the final minutes to see out the win.
Villa will host Horndean on Saturday knowing a draw will take us back to the play-offs after we came agonisingly close in the 2022/23 South Central play-off final but lost 3-1 to Walton & Hersham FC.
Haughney said: “I’m extremely proud of the club, the players and everyone today on such a tough day. And again, our thoughts are with Ben Mulley.”