Matlock Town 2 Stafford Rangers 0
Northern Premier League | Saturday 26 September 2020
Stafford Rangers were left still searching for their first point after defeat at Matlock Town, but it was a game that they could have picked up all three points. It was an all action first half with the home side spurning a hat full of chances in the opening 10 minutes. The best of them saw Liam Hughes skim the top of the bar while Andrew Bond headed over before Lewis King twice denied Callum Dolan with his feet.
Stafford, who had gone close themselves early on through Cieron Keane’s testing free kick, weathered the initial storm and proceeded to play the better football, creating the majority of opportunities in the process. Joe Cuff failed to make the most of a couple that came his way while Jamie Sleigh and Callum Coyle also had a couple of openings.
Another Keane free kick caused further problems in the Matlock defence but, following a scramble, Sam Coulson hit his shot at a Matlock defender and the home side were able to clear their lines.
An error from Michael Williams let in Dolan for Matlock but the defender’s blushes were spared when the eventual shot went high over. Stafford failed to maintain their authority in the second half and the home side were rewarded for early pressure when Liam Hughes stooped to head the opening goal on 61 minutes after Rangers had failed to clear Declan Walker’s free kick. The writing had been on the wall as Matlock had already gone close through Reece Kendall and a couple of efforts from Danny Greenfield.
It was substitute Greenfield who made it 2-0 on 72 minutes when he was allowed to embark on a solo run from the centre of the park before out muscling Ben Forrest and unleashing a fierce drive past King. Matlock were reduced to 10 men on 74 minutes when Kayde Coppin picked up two yellow cards within 10 minutes of coming on – both for fouls on King – but that counted against Stafford as the home side sat back and successfully defended their lead without any trouble.
Matlock Town: 1 Shaun Rowley, 2 Adam Yates, 3 Reece Kendall, 4 Sam Egerton, 5 Ryan Qualter, 6 Mark Lees, 7 Callum Dolan (14 Kayde Coppin 64m), 8 Spencer Harris, 9 Liam Hughes, 10 Andrew Bond (15 Danny Greenfield 55m), 11 Declan Walker. Unused Subs: 12 Alex Byrne, 16 Osebi Abadaki, 17 Jake Hull.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Lewis King, 2 Michael Williams, 3 Cieran Keane (17 Josh Williams 82m), 4 Sam Coulson, 5 Ben Forrest, 6 Alex Ray Harvey, 7 Joe Cuff, 8 Tom Thorley (16 Mo Sebbah-Njie 71m), 9 Jamie Sleigh, 10 Callum Coyle, 11 Joe Kenton. Unused Subs 12 Reece Jones, 14 Tom Carr, 15 Matt Hill
Ref: Elliott Kaye
Cautions: Hughes, Greenfield (Matlock)
Sent Off: Coppin (Matlock) – 2 cautions
Goals: Matlock – Hughes 61, Greenfield 72
Attendance: 453
Report by Chris Elsley
Worcester City 2 Stafford Rangers 3
FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round
Wednesday 23 September 2020
Substitute Joe Cuff scored twice as Stafford Rangers overcame a potential banana skin to progress to the 2nd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup at Worcester City. The host club have experienced better days in the past but ongoing issues since they left their St Georges Lane home in 2013 saw them groundshare with Kidderminster and Bromsgrove Sporting. The knock-on effect saw Worcester opt to drop down three divisions of the pyramid.
But 2020/21 has seen Worcester return to the city at Claines Lane and it was ground building in progress as Stafford Rangers met up with their former Alliance Premier League rivals, now members of the Midland Football League, for the first time in nine years. The game got off to a lively start but had very little to show for it in the opening quarter of an hour.
That changed when Sean Brain put the home side ahead on 17 mins, but it was a goal shrouded with controversy. The goal came about following Jamie Smith’s long ball over the Stafford defence which picked out the Worcester front man.
Rangers keeper Lewis King came off his line, but Brain flicked the ball over King and walked it into the empty net. King immediately claimed handball – justifiably so according to accounts from behind the goal – but the referee waved away the protests. But, if anything, the goal kick started Rangers and, just a minute later, Jamie Sleigh was denied an equaliser by the feet of Dan Jezeph following a clever free kick from Tom Thorley.
Rangers received a further blow when Mitch Candlin was forced out of the game with an ankle injury to be replaced by Cuff. Rangers deservedly levelled on 32 minutes when Joe Kenton made Worcester pay for failing to clear their lines, nipping in ahead of Ryan Winwood before beating Jezeph with a shot the zipped off the rain-soaked surface.
Four minutes later, Cuff struck following some good approach play from Stafford. The chance seemed to have gone when Tom Turton intercepted Callum Coyle’s pass, but Cuff was in like a flash to dispossess the defender and fired Rangers in front. Jamie Sleigh came close to adding to the score before half time but a crucial intervention from Nat Kelly kept Worcester in it.
Referee Neil Pratt was seen to show two red cards to the respective managers for words exchanged as the two sides left the pitch for the break. Sleigh had another good chance to extend Rangers’ lead early in the second half but Jezeph was again on hand to make the save. Worcester sensed a way back into the game and Liam Lockett nearly found it when his low centre spooned up off Sam Coulson but, fortunately for Rangers, into the arms of King.
Chris Withington had a shot charged down and Brain saw his deflected wide by Michael Williams. The Worcester pressure was eventually rewarded on 57 minutes when Aaron Roberts forced the ball home at the back post after Luke English had flicked on a corner. Both keepers were called in to action with Jezeph tipping over a testing free kick from Thorley as Coulson moved in and King denying Nicols with a good save after Thorley had lost possession in the centre of the field.
Jezeph kept out a Coulson header while King saved a long-range drive from Turton before Cuff restored Rangers’ lead on 75 minutes with a fine individual goal. Breaking down the right, Cuff cut inside his man and let fly with a shot across the Worcester keeper and into the far side of the net.
Still Worcester came and King turned over a looping header from Roberts who put another effort wide soon after. But it wasn’t all one way as Rangers went for the kill with both Cuff and Sleigh denied by Jezeph. Worcester almost found another equaliser when Adaggio hit the post following some good possession from the home side, but Rangers held out to book their place in the 2nd round.
Worcester City: 1 Dan Jezeph, 2 Aaron Roberts, 3 Nat Kelly, 4 Craig Jones, 22 Luke English (9 Marco Adaggio 76m), 6 Tom Turton, 7 Ryan Winwood (21 Josh Willis 85m), 12 Jamie Smith, 14 Liam Lockett (15 Chris Withington 53m), 11 Sean Brain, 19 Andy Nicholls. Unused Subs: 5 Joe Hawkins, 18 Dan Okojie, 13 Ben Clay, 20 Owen Oxley
Stafford Rangers: 1 Lewis King, 2 Michael Williams, 3 Cieran Keane, 4 Sam Coulson, 5 Ben Forrest (12 Dan Burns 85m), 6 Tom Thorley, 7 Mitch Candlin (16 Joe Cuff 24m), 8 Alex Ray Harvey, 9 Jamie Sleigh, 10 Callum Coyle, 11 Joe Kenton. Unused Subs 14 Tom Carr, 15 Reece Jones
Ref: Neil Pratt
Cautions: King (Rangers)
Goals: Worcester: Brain 17m, Roberts 57m Rangers: Kenton 32m, Cuff 36m, 75m
Attendance: 300
Stafford Rangers 0 Ashton United 1
Boro toil in Ashton opener
Stafford Rangers 0 Ashton United 1
This opener was a tight affair. The first minute saw a Rangers attack with Gregory Hartley falling at Joe Cuff’s feet with the keeper receiving 5 minutes of treatment. On 13 minutes Ashton won a free kick on 18 yards and John Pritchard stepped up to curl a perfect shot past Lewis King to give the visitors the lead.
It took 30 minutes for life to creep into the game as attacks became more frequent. An excellent ball down the right channel found Cuff and he volleyed wide, while Sam Coulson’s slip nearly let in Ashton’s Ben Harcastle but he recovered well and Millenic Alli headed straight at King. In injury time Alex Ray Harvey had another effort after picking up a loose ball but his effort was straight at Hartley.
The second half was largely dominated by the hosts but it appeared both luck and sharpness had deserted them. Early on, Joe Kenton worked well down the right and his dangerous cross was lashed wide by Cuff, when well placed. Kenton and the industrious Callum Coyle had further shots blocked, while Alli shot wide for Ashton in a rare foray, after stepping inside and attacking the box. More possession from the hosts followed and as much as they tried, there was no breakthrough as attacks came and went, with numerous crosses not being met or mis-timed shots missing the target. This was not helped when Dan Burns received a straight red card from Mr Wilson, for an apparent elbow on Lewis Walters as he broke. Rangers still pushed on and the final action of the game saw Jamie Sleigh having two efforts blocked, firstly by Hartley, then by defenders.
Rangers – Lewis King, Michael Williams (Josh Williams 70), Cieron Keane, Dan Burns, Samuel Coulson, Alex-Ray Harvey, Callum Coyle, Tom Thorley, Joe Cuff (Reece Jones 87), Mitch Candlin (Jamie Sleigh 63), Joe Kenton
Unused subs – Matt Hill, Joe Morley
Ashton – Gregory Hartley, John Lufudu, John Pritchard, Christopher Rowney, Michael Raynes, Samuel Baird, Michael Brewster, Jake Cottrell, Joshua Wilson (Samuel Sheridan 82), Ben Harcastle, Millenic Alli (Lewis Walters 70)
Unused subs – Tom Bentham, Bradley Lynch, Joel Bembaleta
Referee – Richard Wilson
Attendance 595
Report by Alan Gee
From Director of Football – Andy Fearn
Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Marston Road for the opening fixture of the belated 2020/21 season.
Since lockdown I have been overwhelmed with the amounts raised by both shareholder and fan alike to keep the club afloat. It has simply been an outstanding effort. We cannot rest on our laurels. With restricted gate numbers and reduced revenue as a result and the lack of social club income, we must maximise every opportunity to raise revenue.
I am so grateful to our existing sponsors for renewing their deals. Without them we would be unable to provide Jody with a competitive playing budget. We also welcome Harlequin Teamwear Ltd and Dolphin Lifts Midlands Ltd as major new sponsors. As you will be aware Liam and Jason from Harlequin have provided all our new first team home and away strips. They look fabulous and it is so pleasing to see so many fans wearing the shirts already. Thank you to Stan Robinson, ACT Fasteners, Abbey Polymers and Stafford Hyundai for continuing with their shirt and shorts advertising. In addition, we have brand new training kit and wet tops, provided, and sponsored by Harlequin. Finally, our new tracksuits will be sponsored by Dolphin Lifts Midlands Ltd and we would like to thank Lee and Norman Farrington for their support and look forward to a long and mutually rewarding partnership with them.
In my new role it is my intention to bring all the footballing factions together under one umbrella. I am delighted to confirm that both the U21s and U18s development sides will play in the new strips and attend home and away games in our club tracksuits. It is the ultimate intention to have all junior teams representing our fantastic club, all kitted out in our strip and tracksuits by the start of the following season.
Finally, with pre-season concluded I can sense the level of expectation around the club. The brand of football played, against some quality opposition, and player recruitment bodes well for the season ahead.
Let’s give Jody and his team the level of support I associate with Stafford Rangers
Up the Boro
Andy
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