FAIRFIELD Villa fell to a crushing 7-1 defeat at Knowle FC in Total Motion Midland League Division Two.

Stunned Villa spokesman Paul Oakes admitted: "I cannot find the words to describe our performance.

"We started like a house on fire and could have been 3-0 up in the opening five minutes.

"We did take the lead through Connor Collins but from then on, it all went downhill.

"We were 3-1 down by half time and in the second half we were just inept.

"It was the worst performance I've seen from Fairfield Villa in a long, long time.

"But we cannot dwell on it - what we need is a response."

To compound matters, Villa were hit by a hat-trick from former striker D J Pitt.

Oakes explained: "DJ left Villa because he couldn't get a place in our starting line-up but his hat-trick against us was fully deserved.

"We all shook his hand afterwards."

Villa face a tricky trip to local rivals Redditch Borough this Saturday in the Worcester County Cup.

An apprehensive Oakes added: "We never do well at Redditch Borough, so it will be a real test of character and application."