Learning Curve For Villa

<p>Villa blew off some more summer cobwebs in an entertaining game which ultimately saw them punished for a series of technical errors which gave the opponents a rather flattering winning margin.

<p>Lining up in a solid 4-5-1, the Villa threatened early, Pickup combining well with McCormack before beating his full-back and delivering a dangerous ball into the box which just missed the head of Gutteridge.

<p>Davies was next to try his luck, picking up a diagonal ball from Hawkey and seeing his shot drift wide after a forceful run towards the edge of the box.

<p>Colne grabbed the opener against the run of play, a simple throw finding the feet of a midfielder whose cross to the back-post was expertly dispatched on the volley.

<p>The goal seemed to subdue the home side as they ceded territory and looked uncomfortable in possession. Indeed they were caught napping as a long-ball found the feet of a Colne striker who easily slotted home to make it 2-0.

<p>Villa responded well to the second goal, with Conway and Whittaker pushing further forward to support Gutteridge. Conway almost halved the deficit, his 40 yard effort palmed away from goal by the opposition 'keeper. Gutteridge was next in line, latching on to a through-ball from Whittaker but hesitating at the last moment and having the opportunity to shoot snatched from his feet.

<p>The second half opened up nicely as Cobham and Gorge were introduced to add their youthful vigour and direct style to the game. Gorge looked menacing in attack and released Cobham whose effort arrowed narrowly wide.

<p>Unfortunately Colne managed to grab the killer third just as it looked as if the Villa may be able to force themselves back into the game. Another long ball caught the defence off-guard and the ball was fired home to deflate the home side further, before a fourth was added to really kill-off any chance of a comeback.

<p>Villa continued to work hard though and it was pleasing to see Cobham fashion a couple more attempts on goal before the 90 minutes were up.

<p>All in all, there were plenty more positives to build upon ahead of the season opener, not least the improvement in overall shape and improved fitness levels and match sharpness. However, now is the time to cut out the mistakes that have so far proved so costly with eight goals conceded in two friendy fixtures thus far.