Villa kickstart pre-season with a win
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY
Abbey Villa 1
Ballynahinch Olympic 0
SEVEN weeks on from the final game in what was an historic 23/24 season, Abbey Villa returned to action last Saturday for the first of their pre-season fixtures.
Old foes Ballynahinch Olympic were the opponents, in a game which took place at Londonderry Park to allow Villa’s home pitch additional time to recover from all the work which has taken place over the close season.
The game followed a similar pattern to many of the previous matches between these two sides, tight and competitive, with defences and goalkeepers coming out on top. Whilst Olympic probably settled the quicker of the two sides, it wasn’t long before Villa’s three new signings Ryan Convery, Charley Craig and Mark Cooling all showed enough to indicate that they will prove to be sound acquisitions.
Indeed, the only goal of the game came around the half-hour mark via Convery, who charged down a clearance from the Ballynahinch ’keeper to deflect home the winner on his debut for the club.
Upcoming fixtures
July 16, Shankill Utd (A); July 20, Ballymacash Rangers (H); July 23, Ards FC (H); July 27, St Oliver Plunkett (H); July 30, Dundela FC (H).
