We made the trip to sun kissed Connors park for the first game in our quest to retain the cup and the lads were forced to dig deep for the win to advance to the quarter finals.
We dominated the opening 15 minutes playing some brilliant football on the immaculate surface but sadly failed to turn possession into any clear chances.
The home side got on top in midfield and forced us on the back foot for the remaining of the half pressuring us into hurried passes and clearences.
We opened the scoring against the run of play when a long clearance upfield seemed destined to land safely in the Villa keepers hands but Lee Tracey chased the lost cause to just get a toe to the ball before the keeper and nudge it into an empty goal.
The home side responded immediately with sweeping moves up the pitch and when a quick ball split our defence the cross to the back post was met by Villa striker for the easiest of finishes for the equaliser.
Few harsh words at half time took a while to sink in as the home side continued to hold the ascendancy in the opening 10 minutes of the second half and took the lead when a brilliantly struck corner made it’s way to the net via the back post .
Not for the first time this season our lads had to go deep into the well to find a way a back and it was a mighty response.
The thoughts of a cup exit spurred the lads into action and a deep cross from the left wing was finished superbly with the coolest of headers by Dan Fewer.
A tactical reshuffle in midfield allowed the lads to play on their terms for the remainder of the game .The passing, chasing and tackling was top quality and the lads efforts were rewarded when Lee forced a defender into a mistake to dispossess him and play a ball across the box and a retreating defender was adjudged to have handled the ball.
Lee made no mistake from the spot by firing high into the net to put us 3.2 ahead .
The remainder of the game was real end to end stuff and some outstanding defending by Padraig Delahunty ensured the Villa attack were denied scoring an equaliser.
A good tough cup game that the home side were unfortunate to lose.
Last league game takes place on Wednesday in Kilmacow at 6.30 , a win will keep us top and force Johnville to win their remaining two games to deny us the title. Our lads have given us some terrific displays of football all season and matured into a serious team so it would be greatly appreciated if we could get as much support as possible in Kilmacow on Wednesday.