FAIRFIELD Villa recovered from a crushing defeat against Littleton to end their Christmas and New Year fixtures in the Midland Combination Division One on a high.

Villa endured a nightmare start to their Christmas fixtures on December 27 when they were humbled 6-0 by Littleton.

However, the side bounced back by defeating West Midlands Police 3-2 on New Year's Eve and getting the better of Thimblemill 4-2 on Monday, January 2.

Joint manager Lee Shaw admitted that there were no excuses for his side's defeat to Littleton.

He said: "It was a one off result. We could play Littleton ten times and not lose to them by that score again.

"I think it was a case of too much Christmas pudding and the fact the players weren't as up for the match as they should have been after Christmas."

Villa though hit back in style against improving Police. Villa's opponents went ahead, but goals for Stuart Hall (2) and Martin Keight put Fairfield back in the driving seat.

The Police pulled a goal back late on, but Fairfield were always in control.

Villa then defeated a strong Thimblemill side 4-2 to make sure the festive period was a happy one.

Braces for Hall and Dave Roussell made sure that Fairfield sealed victory after a rocky start.

At 0-0 Hall had his penalty saved and Thimblemill went ahead minutes later.

Shaw said: "We responded well to the Littleton defeat and played well.

"More importantly we won two out of three games to keep us in a decent position in the table."