Evo-Stik Northern Premier League | Tuesday 11 September 2018
Report by Chris Elsley

Stafford Rangers made it four wins in four in an entertaining match against Witton Albion at Marston Road.

The Boro were without the suspended Jack Sherratt, allowing Josh Green his first start, while Theo Bailey-Jones came in for Louis Briscoe who dropped to the bench.

Bailey-Jones was soon in the action as he burst past two Witton defenders and into the area but his path was eventually blocked as he shaped to shoot.

It was the recalled midfielder that was on hand to fire Rangers ahead on 10 mins after the Witton defence had failed to deal with a long ball. Green almost took advantage only to be denied by a last ditch tackle from Billy Smart. The ball fell nicely for Bailey-Jones and he drilled in a low shot which slipped through the fingers of Greg Hall in the Witton goal.

The Rangers goalscorer then linked with Tom Thorley to get in a cross that Joe Cuff volleyed at Hall but the home side suffered a set back on 21 mins when striker Kyle Perry went off with a groin injury.

Harry Benns went close to adding a second when his shot deflected off Michael Wilson and out for a corner but, gradually, Rangers let Witton back in to the contest.

Adam Whitehouse had to punch clear following Will Jones’ header then did well to force the same Witton man to lose control after he had been put in by the impressive Danny McKenna.

James Foley volleyed over from the edge of the Rangers area following a McKenna free kick while it needed an excellent header off the line from James Askey to prevent Rob Hopley from putting Witton back on level terms.

Rangers had the better of the early exchanges in the second half – Benns firing their best opportunity over the bar when well placed after some good work by Harrison Holgate near the right hand corner flag.

The Boro’s efforts were rewarded on the hour when they went 2-0 up although, once again, there was an element of good fortune as Thorley’s well struck drive came back off the post only to rebound into his own net off the helpless Wilson.

Benns and Cuff combined well to set up Izak Reid but keeper Hall came out to tackle the Rangers’ sub.

Witton were then handed a 66th minute lifeline when Matty Devine’s pull back reached Foley and he found a way past Whitehouse from the edge of the area.

Buoyed by their goal, Witton kept up the pressure and Rangers looked a little shaky for a time although the visitors didn’t really create much for Whitehouse to worry about.

Instead, the best chances were falling to Rangers and Benns was off target with two that came his way while Cuff saw his shot deflected wide off James Yates.

Louis Briscoe fired over after following up his own free kick but Rangers finally put the game to bed in the 86th minute.

Benns did well, holding off the challenge of Foley, before he picked out the run of Lewis Banks who calmly slotted past Hall to make it 3-1.

Whitehouse beat away a 25 yarder from McKenna while Lingouba almost found a way through for Witton in the final stages, but there was no denying Rangers who now move up to 9th.

Stafford Rangers:1 Adam Whitehouse, 2 Harrison Holgate, 3 James Askey, 4 Luke Jones, 5 Josh Green (12 Louis Briscoe 79m), 6 Tom Marshall, 7 Theo Bailey-Jones (15 Lewis Banks 74m), 8 Tom Thorley, 9 Kyle Perry (16 Izak Reid 22m), 10 Harry Benns, 11 Joe Cuff. Unused Subs:14 Sam Coulson, 17 Osebi Abadaki

Witton Albion: 1 Greg Hall, 2 James Yates, 3 Matty Devine, 4 Josh Wardle, 5 Michael Wilson, 6 Billy Smart (14 Delial Brewster 63m), 7 Danny McKenna, 8 Cesair Lingouba, 9 Rob Hopley, 10 Will Jones, 11 James Foley. Unused Subs: 12 Chris Noone, 13 Paul Moore,15 River Humphreys,

Cautions: Thorley, Benns (Rangers) Devine, Lingouba (Witton)

Ref: Richard Cattell

Att : 483

Report by Alan Gee

This FA Cup battle opened with half an hour of relative containment but after a good run by Joe Cuff and a blocked shot from Jack Sherratt, for Rangers, the hosts managed to break free on fifteen minutes as Caine Winfarran capitalised on a Rangers error to feed Dan Trott who gave Grimsby the lead.

Evo-Stik Northern Premier League
Tuesday 4 September 2018

Report by Chris Elsley | Photograph by Wendy Hill

Rangers made it two wins out of two with victory over their arch rivals Hednesford but it came at a cost as Jack Sherratt was sent off with ten minutes remaining.

Luke Jones was back in the starting line up after his one match suspension with Tom Marshall dropping to the bench. There was also a recall for Louis Briscoe in place of Theo Bailey-Jones.

For the two former Boro players in the Hednesford squad – Josh Craddock and Sam Griffiths – there was only a place on the bench where they were to stay for the duration of the match.

The game started at a high tempo with Rangers doing most of the early pressing although they couldn’t manage to create a single effort on goal in the opening stages.

The home side also struggled to find a way through. That was until Boro right back Lewis Banks got caught in possession midway inside the Stafford half. The ball was played out to Nathan Fox on the left wing and his cross was superbly converted on the volley by Mike Howard to give the Pitmen a 20th minute lead.

Still Rangers couldn’t create anything to trouble Hednesford keeper Daniel Eccles in open play but, when Kyle Perry was tripped right on the edge of the area, up stepped Izak Reid to fire home the free kick to level for Rangers on the 36th minute. A great moment for Rangers but one that the Hednesford defence and keeper should have dealt with.

Six minutes later Perry was brought down again – this time some 35 yards out by Jed Davies who received the games’ first caution. The distance did not matter to Louis Briscoe who drilled in a low shot which once again found its way past defence and keeper and Rangers were in front.

Briscoe tried his luck again from a similar distance in stoppage time but this time Eccles got behind it safely.
Hednesford had a chance to level right on the stroke of half time when Davies’ free kick picked out Dan Cockerline at the back post but Adam Whitehouse made the vital block to keep Rangers in front.

The second half was more open and Kyle Perry looked to have extended Rangers’ lead on 50 mins when he headed in Reid’s cross but the referee spotted an offence that few others could and ruled the goal out.

Soon after, Davies drilled in a low centre that Whitehouse needed two attempts to grab hold of with Cockerline and Reece King waiting to pounce.

In another Hednesford attack, Cockerline went to ground in an unsuccessful search of a penalty. Rangers broke away but Bailey-Jones could only find the side netting. Referee Walker then returned to Cockerline to issue a caution for his fruitless efforts to deceive.

Harry Benns forced a save from Eccles as the two sides exchanged counter-attacks but it was another dead ball situation that produced Rangers’ third goal of the night on 72 mins.

Reid drilled in a low free kick from near the left touchline which Sherratt hooked home for his first goal of the season.

Another Sherratt shot was saved low to his left by Eccles while, at the other end, Whitehouse had to tip over Stefan Galinski’s looping header from a Davies free kick.

The only down side to Rangers’ night came on 81 mins when Sherratt was shown his second yellow for a harmless looking challenge on Galinski but, though Hednesford tried to press home their one man advantage, they failed to pose much of a threat to Whitehouse in the Rangers goal.

Hednesford: 1 Daniel Eccles, 2 Callam Mendez-Jones, 3 Reece King (14 Sam Grimshaw 59m), 4 Jermaine Hollis (12 Matt Dodd 46m), 5 Stefan Galinski, 6 Charlie Gatter, 7 Matt Curley, 8 Jed Davies, 9 Dan Cockerline, 10 Mike Howard (16 Lewis Archer 60m), 11 Nathan Fox. Unused Subs:15 Josh Craddock, 17 Sam Griffiths
Rangers: 1 Adam Whitehouse, 2 Lewis Banks, 3 James Askey, 4 Luke Jones, 5 Sam Coulson, 6 Jack Sherratt, 7 Louis Briscoe (16 Harry Benns 63m), 8 Tom Thorley, 9 Kyle Perry 10 Izak Reid (14 Josh Green 82m), 11 Joe Cuff 15 Theo Bailey-Jones 57m). Unused Subs: 12 Billy Reeves, 17 Tom Marshall

Cautions: Davies, Cockerline (Hednesford) Bailey-Jones, Perry (Rangers)
Sent Off: Sherratt (Rangers)

Ref: R Walker

Att: 916

There could have been early problems for Rangers when Adam Whitehouse looked to have a wrist injury picked up when keeping out Evan Garnett’s shot but, fortunately, the Boro keeper was able to continue after treatment.

There was little else of a threat at either end for the next 20 mins. Mickleover’s Ben Roberts tried his luck with a couple of free kicks taken from almost identical positions around 30 yards out. His first effort went just over the intersection off post and crossbar while his second cannoned back off the wall.

Rangers’ best opportunity came from a Tom Thorley free kick that was headed down by Kyle Perry but Kevin Grocott quickly cleared the danger.

It was another free kick that produced the opener for Rangers on 21 minutes. Though the initial kick was unproductive, Rangers kept up the pressure Joe Cuff crossed from the left and Kyle Perry got the header past Lewis King for his first goal of the season.

A couple of minutes later Cuff went wide himself as Rangers looked to build on their advantage.

Mickleover had a further set back when Niall Doran was stretchered off following a challenge by Thorley and it was Rangers who continued to look the stronger as the sides went into the break but they only had one goal to show for their efforts.

The best of the rest fell to Harry Benns on 39 mins but he sliced his shot over after some good approach play on the Stafford right.

But it was Mickleover who came out stronger in the second half and it needed a good block from Tom Marshall to deny Roberts after the Mickleover man had cut in from the right touchline.

Whitehouse was forced to push away a free kick from Roberts then saw Phillips go just wide from just outside the area.

Mickleover’s pressure finally paid off in the 58th minute when another free kick – this time from player manager John McGrath – deflected off the boot of Lewis Banks and past Whitehouse via the inside of the far post.

Mickleover came again and sub Lewis Belgrave sent in a cross-shot from some distance out which sailed wide then a poor header out from Marshall gave Garnett a look in only for Whitehouse to make the save with his legs.

Rangers did come on stronger in the final 15 mins but Briscoe and Theo Bailey-Jones both wasted chances that came their way.

Mickleover had to play out the last 10 minutes a man short after Kevin Grocott saw red for a rash challenge on Marshall and they should have paid the price on the stroke of 90 minutes when Alex Curtis delivered the perfect cross to the back post but somehow Thorley could only find the side netting with the goal at his mercy.

Stafford Rangers:1 Adam Whitehouse, 2 Lewis Banks, 3 Alex Curtis, 4 Luke Jones, 5 Jack Sherratt, 6 Tom Marshall, 7 Theo Bailey-Jones, 8 Tom Thorley, 9 Kyle Perry (12 Louis Briscoe 69m), 10 Harry Benns, 11 Joe Cuff (15 Izak Reid 63m). Unused Subs: 14 Josh Green, 16 James Askey, 17 Billy Reeves

Mickleover Sports: 1 Lewis King, 2 Kevin Grocott, 3 Mason Warren, 4 John McGrath, 5 Pablo Mills, 6 Ben Turner, 7 Curtis Burrows, 8 Ollie Roberts, 9 Jimmy Phillips, 10 Evan Garnett, 11 Niall Doran (14 Lewis Belgrave 30m). Unused Subs: 12 Will Norcross, 15 Clinton Morrison, 16 Isai Kersalia, 17 Jake Scott

Cautions: King (Mickleover)

Sent Off: Grocott (Mickleover)

Ref: Ben Cooke

Att : 618

Report by Chris Elsley | Photography by Wendy Hill

In the first minute Shields showed their intent as Rangers were punished with a free kick wide on the left and Gary Brown glanced a header just wide. Rangers then got into their stride, with Joe Cuff being instrumental. Firstly intercepting a midfield pass, then running on to place a low shot wide of the post, before attacking down the left and pulling back for debutant Harry Benns but the ball was easily saved by Liam Connell.

Play then switched to the other end as a fine through ball found the dangerous Joshua Gillies and his shot was saved well by Adam Whitehouse. Back to the other end and Good work by Benns found Cuff and his effort was deflected for a corner. Theo Bailey-Jones was then the first Rangers player into the book for fouling Gillies, before he combined with Benns and firing across goal.

Shields then got into their stride as Gavin Cogdon forced a corner, Carl Finnigan showed some skill in wriggling through, but his cross was punched clear, then Ursene Mouanda had two efforts cleared for corners. Cogdon and Gillies then combined for a Dan Wright effort to be blocked before the deadlock was broken.

Cogdon received a slide rule pass down the left channel and beat Whitehouse with a powerful shot to give the hosts the lead. Wright then combined with Finnigan with the latter’s shot being saved by Whitehouse. Rangers then rallied as Cuff again attacked down the left and his effort was cleared back to him and his next effort across goal was cleared. The ball soon found its back into the box and Kyle Perry turned but his shot was blocked, before Bailey-Jones shot wide from twenty yards.

Another free kick was cleared after Benns was fouled, before Cuff chased all the way back into his own half only to be booked for pulling back Gillies. Billy Reeves replaced Jack Sherratt at half time as Steve Burr tried to stir things. Adams was put through early in the half, but Whitehouse saved his effort before Rangers started to look a little more settled with spell of controlled possession before Reeves fed Perry and hi shot was saved. Shields then went on the attack as Adams went down the left only for his effort to hit the side netting.

This was followed by Cogdon, again down the left, almost reaching the box but being blocked by Luke Jones who received his first yellow. The resultant free kick was cleared, and Rangers again broke, with Thorley going on an excellent run and his cross was met at the back post by Cuff, who managed to blast over rather than level the scores. Shields were starting to assert themselves again and Jones received his second as another break towards the Rangers box saw him adjudged to have raised a foot too high in winning the ball.

Understandably the hosts then poured on the pressure and on sixty-eight minutes Cogdon raced into the box and Whitehouse, probably harshly, was adjudged to have brought him down and Mr Urwin pointed straight to the spot, as well as booking Whitehouse. Substitute Robert Briggs stepped up and made no mistake for a two-nil lead. Cogdon was again denied by a block as Rangers regrouped in the latter stages as they offered no less than a decent spell of pressure and a shot curled wide by Reeves. Another shot from Cogdon was saved on eighty-six minutes before it was all wrapped up with a cheeky effort a minute later. Phil Turnbull lobbed the ball into the box where Finnigan controlled and flicked past Whitehouse for a final three-nil score line.

A harsh lesson but some flashes of potential from Boro as well as what is needed to progress. 

Rangers – Whitehouse, Banks, Curtis, Jones, Sherratt (Reeves 45), Marshall, Bailey-Jones (Askey 58), Thorley, Perry, Benns (Green 73), Cuff.
Bookings Jones 54&57, Whitehouse 68, Bailey-Jones 18

Att 1,363

Report by Alan Gee | Photography by Wendy Hill