Aston Villa Old Stars vs. Mickey Buttress X1
Sunday 9th March 2008
Hollyfields Sports Ground, Woodacre Road, Erdington, Birmingham
'WINNING START TO THE NEW SEASON'
The Aston Villa Old Stars, sponsored by Gemini Wealth Management, commenced their 49th season of fundraising matches with a 2-1 win against a team of prominent former non-league players led by ex Aston Villa player Mickey Buttress in front of a sizeable crowd.
Aston Villa FPA chairman Neil Rioch (left), and European cup-winners Pat Heard, Gordon Cowans & Tony Morley parade the new 2008 match kit with three directors of the Aston Villa Old Stars sponsors Gemini Wealth Management, who are based in Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield.
This was the Aston Villa Old Stars first game since 25th November last year when they commenced their normal winter break. Despite this long lay-off from match action the team, which featured 3 players from the 1982 European Cup winning squad, started very brightly and had the lion's share of possession.
The 'Old Stars' created several goalscoring chances in the opening 20 minutes but failed to convert any of them. Then against the run of play, the Mickey Buttress X1 took the lead with an excellently worked goal. A good move down the right wing allowed Andy Downing to deliver a superb cross to the far post and Gary Edmunds powered home a fine-headed goal.
This spurred the 'Old Stars' into action and once again they took control of possession. Within a few minutes of going behind, terrific interplay down the left wing between European Cup stars Gordon Cowans and Tony Morley presented the opportunity for Pat Heard to deliver a cross with pin-point accuracy to the head of the incoming centre-forward Darren Roberts (ex Wolverhampton Wanderers FC who scored a hat-trick on his debut v Birmingham City and lifelong Villa fan) who made no mistake from close range.
No. 9 Darren Roberts heads home the equaliser for the Old Stars
The 'Old Stars' were now putting constant pressure on the opposition but suffered a blow when Tony Morley was injured in an innocent challenge and had to leave the field with 5 minutes of the first-half remaining. However, the ‘Old Stars’ continued pressing and on the stroke of half-time, another foraging run by right-back Ian Ward resulted in him being brought down in the oppositions area and referee Bob Eggar had no hesitation in awarding a penalty.
Although last years leading goalscorer Tony Morley wanted to come back on to take the penalty, captain Gordon Cowans took charge and coolly side-footed the spot-kick into the corner of the goal to put the 'Old Stars' 2-1 up. It was a good comeback that was full of fighting spirit and a deserved score line as the half-time whistle blew.
Man of the Match - Villa legend Gordon Cowans
The second half action mirrored that of the first-half but solid defensive performances by both teams restricted the sides to few clear-cut goalscoring opportunities and the match finished 2-1 to the Aston Villa Old Stars.
Villa legend Gordon Cowans was the 'man of the match' with Villa’s speedy centre-back pairing of Neil Rioch and Darren Bradley running him close.
Given their long break from match action, this was an excellent start to the Aston Villa Old Stars new season of fixtures and over £4,000 was raised on the day with more money to come. The proceeds will be shared between Kidney Research and the John Taylor Hospice in Erdington.
© Copyright 2008 Aston Villa Former Players Association