FAIRFIELD Villa ended the season on a high as they won the Midland League’s Presidents Cup with a 3-2 victory over Alvis Sporting Club.
Villa came out all guns blazing on Tuesday night for the final, which was held at Stourport Swifts’ Walshes Meadow, and had the ball in the net early on through Stuart Hall only for it to be ruled out for handball.
But leading scorer Connor Collins then netted a hat-trick to send Wayne Davis’ side into the break with a comfortable three-goal cushion.
Kiam Galdins pulled one back for Coventry side Alvis after 49 minutes before Dildale Linton set up a tense finish with six minutes to go.
Villa, though, held on to clinch silverware and secure a first-ever victory over their opponents.
Villa’s vice-chairman Paul Oakes said: “Some of the football we showed in the first half was probably the best I have seen in a long while.
“We cut Alvis to pieces and we could have won the game by a bigger margin.
“Alvis came back at us and gave it a really good which made it a thrilling cup tie to watch.
“It was nail-biting stuff at the end but after losing Ben Smith and Dan Wilkes to injury during the game, the lads soldiered on to get the victory.
“Alvis were very gracious in defeat and it made for a nice way to end the season.”
After finishing second-from-bottom in Midland League Division Two last season, Villa have enjoyed a total turnaround in fortunes under the management of Davis who came from Sunday league outfit VBG Fairfield.
In his first season in charge of a Saturday side, he has guided Villa to a fifth place finish, an achievement which Oakes could not praise highly enough.
“It’s a massive improvement on last season and there’s not enough credit which can be given to Wayne and the rest of the management team,” he said.
“It’s nice to have ended the campaign on a high which bodes well for the summer as players will want to come back to us.”
