Home | 22 August 2026
Four-star Villa sink Evesham to continue flying start
By | Abhishek Ramesh
Hanworth Villa thrashed Evesham United 4-1 at home to make it three wins out of four games and go third in the Southern League Premier South.
Elliott Bolton scored a goal-of-the-season contender alongside Michael Harding’s brace and a fourth from Brandon Barzey, while Brandon Liggett scored a consolation penalty for the visitors.
Despite the narrow defeat away to Bath last week, manager Simon Haughney made only one change to his starting XI. Wingback Ben Geraghty returned to the fray in place of the in-form Louis Gates.
"I said to the boys after the defeat in Bath, it's important that we hit back with a win," Haughney explained. "That was the first challenge I set out today and we're delighted with the result."
Centre-back Guy Hollis, midfielder Brandon Curtis and winger Brandon Barzey also made the squad for the first time this season. The trio featured on the bench alongside Guy Ansah-Palmer and Ben Mulley.
The Rectory Meadow outfit dominated early proceedings. In just the second minute, Ethan Light found a galloping Harding on the right flank, who picked out Billy Nutbeam with an eye-of-the-needle through pass across the box. The left wing-back’s shot across goal, however, was dragged wide of the far post.
Four minutes later, Haydon Vaughan timed his run into the box perfectly but couldn’t get the right contact to turn the low cross from the left.
Haughney praised his youthful side's eagerness to create chances from the off and their bravery. "For me, in these young boys, it's about showing and wanting to get on the ball," he said.
"To a man, they all show for the ball, they want the ball and they're comfortable."
Villa were awarded a spot-kick in the 14th minute when Harding was fouled while chesting a long ball from George Wells. The striker stepped up himself and converted towards Brendan Beard’s right to give Villa the lead at the quarter-hour mark.
The Robins were given a lifeline as Ben Geraghty brought down Thomas Conteh in the box midway through the first half. Forward Liggett made no mistake from 12 yards out, finding the bottom left corner as Tyla Dickinson dived the wrong way.
Reflecting on the equaliser, Haughney felt his side dropped their levels momentarily. "Before we scored, I thought our decisions were brilliant," he noted.
"But after we scored, that was probably our worst patch of the game for 10 or 15 minutes. They were pressing, working hard and putting us under the cosh."
As the first half wore on, skipper Wells became more and more effective in dictating play from deep. A brilliant drilled through ball for Nutbeam and a shot on target from the half-line to lob the keeper stood out in particular.
Gio McGregor also became more involved when his cutback after a dash to the byline was blocked out of touch just past the half-hour.
Geraghty redeemed himself for his earlier error when he slid in expertly to defuse an Evesham breakaway from Villa’s corner.
Villa kept pressing as Vaughan picked out Nutbeam in the box, but the No. 12’s header was tipped over the crossbar by Beard.
Josh Casey’s shot from the tightest of angles was well off target in the 38th minute.
Then, five minutes before the break, Villa retook the lead in stunning fashion. The initial corner was cleared straight to an unmarked Bolton at the edge of the area. And the midfielder needed no second invitation to strike a thunderous volley into the top left corner off the outside of his right boot.
"I was right behind it and it was a fantastic strike," Haughney remarked. "Fair play to Bolts. Most definitely a goal of the season."
Villa began the second half in lightning-quick fashion as well. Bolton clearly had his shooting boots on for the afternoon when he tested Beard from distance in the 52nd minute.
The home fans breathed a huge sigh of relief when a 55th-minute cross evaded an on-the-stretch Liggett by mere inches. Otherwise, the Villa wall had precious little to deal with.
Harding then gave Villa much-needed breathing room in the 63rd minute. He tucked in his second from a rebound after Vaughan powered forward with the ball. The attacking midfielder's initial shot was saved by the goalie but right into the No. 9’s stride. It was his fourth goal in as many starts this season.
The marksman almost got his hat-trick in the 72nd minute when his piledriver from the edge of the box thundered off the crossbar and stayed out.
But there was more all-round brilliance from the centre forward when he assisted Barzey for Villa’s fourth of the game in the 79th minute. The substitute had been on the pitch for just nine minutes when he finished clinically into the bottom left corner.
It was a great way to mark the beginning of his second stint at the club. He last played for Villa on 2nd October 2021 against Spelthorne Sports back when they were still in the Combined Counties Premier Division North.
Vaughan tried to cap off his own splendid outing with an outrageous long-range effort to catch Beard off his line. Unfortunately, it was overhit and the fans were denied a second worldie.
In the end, Hanworth were full value for the three points and preserved their 100% home record at the start of the campaign.
"To put nine points out of 12 on the board, you take it," Haughney said of the team's strong start. "It's still early days, but let's be honest, you'd rather have the points than not at this stage."
They’ll next be in action on the road to Wimborne Town on Saturday, 29th of August with kick-off at 3 pm.
Looking ahead to the fixture, the manager confirmed preparations would begin immediately. "We try and get as much information as we can," he added.
"All the teams pose threats, so we have got to make sure that what we're doing is spot on. We will be doing our homework starting tomorrow."
