Villa’s youngsters fell to defeat as Evo-Stik Premier League side Chasetown kept up their impressive pre-season form with a win at the Scholars Ground.

Richard Bryan gave Villa the lead in the 32nd minute before Dean Perrow equalised seven minutes later, before Malachi Farquharson grabbed the winner for the Scholars on the hour.

The claret and blues played some attractive football, but that only seemed to spur on Chasetown to secure an encouraging victory.

The only negative was Danny Smith being carried off on a stretcher after 16 minutes. That forced the Scholars to use substitute Adebayo Ajidahun for longer than he had expected.

Dean Perrow forced goalkeepper Elliott Parish into a save immediately after the restart following Smith’s injury before Villa rode their luck on the half-hour.

Daniel Devine’s back pass to Parish saw the Villa goalkeeper smash the ball straight at Ramone Stephens. Luckily for the visitors, the ball ricocheted wide for a goal kick.

Villa had started brightly when Kevin MacDonald’s men took the lead on 32 minutes, although perhaps against the run of play.

After a corner kick had only been partially cleared, Bryan fired in a shot which seemed to deflect and wrong-foot Ryan Price in the Chasetown goal.

But the home side were level five minutes before the break, when Perrow clinically shot past Parish to net his fourth goal in four pre-season games.

Villa’s star man, captain Daniel Johnson, then tested Price with a long-range effort on the stroke of half-time but the goalkeeper was equal to it.

The usual flurry of pre-season substitutions did not seem to interrupt the flow of an entertaining game, and both sides looked capable of winning.

Just short of the hour, Courtney Cameron’s looping header was easily saved by Price and, within two minutes, Chasetown had gained the lead.

First, substitute goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist made a spectacular save to deprive Alex Steadman but, from the resultant corner which was taken short by Ramone Stephens to Jake Sedgemore, Sedgemore’s pinpoint cross was superbly headed home by Malachi Farquharson.

Villa’s best chance of an equaliser came in the 77th minute. Substitute Callum Robinson rounded Price but, in the end, took the ball too wide and his attempted cross was easily claimed by the retreating goalkeeper.

As pre-season friendlies go, this was a classic, which would have left 513 supporters satisfied with the standard of football from both sides.

Even the numerous substitutions never spoiled the flow of the game.