Isthmian South Central 14 Dec 2024
Southall 5
- Brendan Matthew (32’, 56’, 90+5’)
- Lanseny Traore (81’)
- Christian Mulindwa (90+3’)
Hanworth Villa 1
- Manny Parry (2’)
Match Report
A tricky test at Southall saw Hanworth Villa fall to their first defeat in six games at the 1878 Stadium.
Manny Parry’s second-minute header was cancelled out by Brendan Matthew’s hat-trick, as Lanseny Traore and Christian Mulindwa added late goals to round up a 5-1 loss.
The defeat meant Villa dropped to sixth on 36 points, behind Uxbridge — who routed Horndean 8-0 — on goal difference. Hartley Wintney moved to third on 37 points with their 4-0 win over Moneyfields.
It was the third consecutive season where Villa failed to pick up three points away at Southall.
Despite the heavy loss, the scoreline did not accurately reflect Villa’s overall performance as we fought valiantly before being undone by three late goals.
Assistant manager Chris Balchin said: “I thought first half, it was a very even fixture. The game was on a cliff’s edge for both teams really and they get a second goal quickly.
“I thought we had a really good spell at 2-1 down but they got a third, arguably against the run of play, and we sort of capitulated after that.
“Let’s give credit to Southall. They’re well coached, well drilled and they fully deserved to win the game.”
Villa’s defensive showing, unlike recent stellar displays, left much to be desired as Southall were able to exploit spaces in behind our backline.
Balchin added: “We’ve been very good defensively of late but I think our heads dropped and we felt a little bit sorry for ourselves.”
Making a habit of quick starts, Villa took the lead inside two minutes with a carbon copy of last Tuesday’s early opener from Sam Merson.
It was like déjà vu as a beautiful whipped corner kick into the six-yard area was headed home by Parry.
Villa dominated the early proceedings and nearly had our second in the ninth minute when Christian Jolley was put through by a long clearance from Mark Smith.
But Southall goalkeeper Michael Edegbe came off his line early to close the angle and pulled off a brave save from Jolley’s effort.
Six minutes later, Parry could have had his second from another corner but was denied from close range by Edegbe.
The home side soon found their rhythm and eventually made Villa pay for our missed chances.
In the 32nd minute, Matthew raced through the defence and calmly finished past Smith for the equaliser. It was the first goal Villa conceded after 227 minutes.
Southall nearly had their second minutes later, as right-back Noah Hay delivered a dangerous low cross across Villa’s goal line which narrowly escaped Anthony O’Connor’s reach at the far post.
Villa had one more chance before the interval, as Finlay Macnab’s grounded effort from the left side of the penalty box came crashing off the post.
With the game hanging in the balance, Southall struck first in the second half.
After smartly beating the offside trap again in the 56th minute, Matthew lifted the ball over Smith who had come off his line too late.
Kyron Richards nearly made it three for Southall moments later, but his curling effort trickled past the outside of the post.
Villa then had a penalty claim waved away in the 70th minute after Macnab was bundled over in the box before he got his shot away.
Eleven minutes later, a spectacular 30-yard strike from Lanseny Traore extinguished any hopes of a Villa comeback.
Southall added salt to our wounds as substitute Christian Mulindwa and Matthew, completing his hat-trick, added their fourth and fifth goals deep into injury time.
Balchin is determined to make things right next Saturday when we host second-placed Kingstonian at Rectory Meadow.
He said: “This one will hurt. But football’s a funny old game, you never let the highs get too high or the lows get too low.
“We’ll bounce back, I’ve got no doubt about that. We’ll work on shape in training and how we try and combat Kingstonian.
“We’ll certainly get a reaction and tune out of the boys next week.”
