Stafford Rangers 1 Mickleover 1

Stafford Rangers 1 Mickleover 1

Pitching In Northern Premier League
Tuesday 08 March 2022

Joe Cuff - Open House Man Of The MatchA 90th minute equaliser cost Stafford Rangers two points in their quest to reach the end of season play offs.

Joe Cuff’s fourth goal in four consecutive games had looked set to put Rangers within touching distance of the top five but William Radcliffe headed home a free kick to give Mickleover a share of the spoils.

Rangers, who were unchanged for the third game in a row, started brightly without testing Jonathan Hedge in the visitors’ goal. Cuff skied a half chance over the top and Tom Tonks sent a dipping volley onto the roof of the net but the first 45 minutes contained little to excite the disappointing crowd of 380.

After keeping Stafford out during the opening exchanges, Mickleover settled down and enjoyed more possession but also failed to trouble the goalkeeper – thanks in part to some timely tackles from the back line.

Mickleover were first to show in the second half with Andy Dales having a shot blocked and George Milner shooting over.

At the other end, Rangers’ top scorer Tonks missed a chance to add to his tally when he sliced his shot away from goal.

It was Cuff who produced the first moment of quality of the evening on 57 minutes when he was sent away by Al-Ray Harvey and advanced to fire Rangers in front.

Cuff wasn’t far off doubling the lead with an audacious cross-shot that flew across the face of goal but Rangers found themselves pushed back in the final 15 minutes as Mickleover looked for an equaliser.

An excellent save from Mateusz Hewelt to keep out Stuart Beavon looked to have earned his side all three points but a soft free kick conceded in the final minute gave Radcliffe his chance.

Stafford Rangers: 13 Mateusz Hewelt, 2 Andrew Burns, 3 Joe Dunne , 4 Alex-Ray Harvey, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 James O’Neill, 7 Tre Pemberton (16 Jediael Abbey 90+1m), 8 Tom Tonks, 9 Kaiman Anderson (17 Jake Charles 76m), 10 Alex Fletcher, 11 Joe Cuff (14 Joe Kenton 75m). Unused Subs: 12 Michael Tait-Moran, 15 Josh Endall,

Mickleover: 1 Jonathan Hedge, 2 Elliott Walker, 3 Rhys Dolan, 4 Liam Ravenhill (15 Germaine Agustien 30m), 5 James Butler, 6 William Radcliffe, 7 George Milner, 8 Mason Warren, 9 Shaquille McDonald (16 Javaun Davidson 67m), 10 Stuart Beavon, 11 Andy Dales (17 Andrew Wright 67m). Unused Subs 12 George Atwal, 14 Ethan Mann

Cautions: Stewart (Stafford)

Referee: Harry Warner

Att: 380

Report: Chris Elsley

 

 

 

Stafford Rangers 1 South Shields 1

Stafford Rangers 1 South Shields 1

Pitching In Northern Premier League
Saturday 05 March 2022

Joe Cuff - Open House Man Of The MatchStafford Rangers extended their unbeaten run to 12 games with a battling draw against table topping South Shields.

Conditions didn’t favour a display of passing skills with the wind causing problems to both sides.

Rangers, who named an unchanged side, had the wind in their backs for the first half but it proved more of a hindrance than a help with long balls forward from the Shields’ back line holding up nicely for the front pair of JJ Hooper and Darius Osei but they were well shepherded by James O’Neill ancestral defensive partner Ethan Stewart.

On an afternoon where clear chances were at a premium, Hooper should have done better for the visitors midway through the first half when Osei set him up with a neat header but he put his shot high and wide of the target.

Earlier, Alex Kempster was also off target with a back post header following Jordan Hunter’s cross.

Instead, it was Rangers who struck with their first real opportunity, seven minutes before half time. It was that man Joe Cuff on the mark once again, lashing the ball home in front of a delighted Shed End after Shields had failed to clear Tom Tonks’ throw. It was Cuff’s third goal in three matches.

Tre Pemberton had a look in early in the second half when he was on the end of Kaiman Anderson’s cross but Pemberton, who this week turned down an opportunity to join Macclesfield – could only find the arms of Shields’ keeper Myles Boney.

Shields drew level on 54 minutes with a quality strike from Nathan Lowe who beat Mateusz Hewelt from around 25 yards with a free kick, won after Alex Fletcher’s cross field ball had been cut out by Conor Tee.

Hooper missed a good chance soon after then Dillon Morse headed over from virtually underneath the crossbar as Shields threatened to go in front.

Rangers created a couple of half chances themselves as a solo run from Cuff wasn’t matched by his finish while Tonks’ shot deflected off Blair Adams and straight to Boney.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men in the closing stages when Mitchell Rose – booked early in the second half – failed to listen to repeated warnings from referee Ben Robinson and was dismissed for hauling down Joe Kenton. Sadly, for Rangers, there was very little time for them to take advantage but they were satisfied with the point gained that lifts them up to 8th in the table.

Stafford Rangers: 13 Mateusz Hewelt, 2 Andrew Burns, 3 Joe Dunne , 4 Alex-Ray Harvey, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 James O’Neill, 7 Tre Pemberton, 8 Tom Tonks, 9 Kaiman Anderson (17 Jake Charles 90m), 10 Alex Fletcher, 11 Joe Cuff (14 Joe Kenton 78m). Unused Subs: 12 Michael Tait-Moran, 15 Ben Woods, Jediael Abbey

South Shields: 1 Myles Boney, 2 Jordan Hunter ( 15 Conor Tee 46m), 3 Blair Adams, 4 Mitchell Rose, 5 Dillon Morse, 6 Jack Bodenham, 7 Nathan Lowe, 8 Robert Briggs (14 Will McGowan 78m), 9 JJ Hooper (12 William Jenkins 90m), 10 Darius Osei, 11 Alex Kempster. Unused Subs: 16 Blair Rossiter, 17 Sam Hodgson

Cautions: Bodenham (South Shields)
Sent Off: Rose – 2 cautions (South Shields)

Referee: Ben Robinson

Att: 862

Report: Chris Elsley

 

 

Stafford Rangers 2 Stalybridge Celtic 0

Stafford Rangers 2 Stalybridge Celtic 0

Pitching In Northern Premier League
Saturday 26 February 2022

Kaiman Anderson - Open House Man Of The MatchStafford Rangers ended the long wait for a home win with victory in the Northern Premier League’s version of the Old Firm derby played out between Glasgow rivals Rangers and Celtic.

Nine games, spread over 161 days, had passed since Rangers beat Matlock Town for their last league win in front of their own fans but the torment was ended on Saturday as they saw off the challenge of Stalybridge Celtic at a sunny Marston Road.

Rangers had been dealt a blow earlier in the week with the departure of keeper Luke Pilling to Telford United but they acted quickly by bringing in Mateusz Hewelt on loan from Tranmere Rovers. The Polish keeper had been part of the Bamber Bridge side that won 2-1 at Stafford earlier in the season.

Facing a stiff first half breeze, Rangers struggled to make an impression in the opening half hour with Stalybridge creating the better of the few chances.

Charley Doyle tried to catch Hewelt off his line with a hopeful punt from just inside the Rangers’ half while Raul Correia fired wide when well placed a minute later.

After a speculative volley from Correia went just wide, the game turned into a more even contest with little threat to either goal.

It took half an hour of play for Rangers to get their first real look in as Tre Pemberton put Tom Tonks through but he took a fraction too long intaking his shot and Callum Harris managed to deflect the ball for a corner.

The opening goal came three minutes later and it was Joe Cuff who was on the mark once more. Alex Fletcher’s free kick glanced off the head of Celtic defender Connor O’Grady to Cuff at the back post. His first touch took the ball past Matthew Liptrot, his second rifled it past Celtic keeper Liam Hughes.

Stalybridge’s best chance to level matters before the interval fell to Jay Fitzmartin who broke clear and only a lunging last ditch tackle from James O’Neill prevented him from going through on goal.

Fletcher and Kaiman Anderson both went close to increasing the Stafford lead early in the second half with Fletcher’s shot being blocked and Anderson hit the base of the post from close range.

Stafford looked comfortable but their single goal lead was vulnerable and was threatened when an opportunity fell to Fitzmartin that forced Hewelt to save at the foot of his right hand post.

Stalybridge were gifted their best chance when Fletcher was caught in possession by Sam Wedgbury. The ball sent Correia clear but he lacked conviction and succeeded only in a tame shot at Hewelt.

It was a costly miss. Rangers went straight down the other end where Pemberton was bundled over by Quansah and Tonks dispatched the 74th minute penalty to give Stafford breathing space.

Stalybridge never looked like getting back in to the game as Rangers remained composed to extend their unbeaten record to 10 games.

Stafford Rangers: 13 Mateusz Hewelt, 2 Andrew Burns, 3 Joe Dunne , 4 Alex-Ray Harvey, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 James O’Neill, 7 Tre Pemberton, 8 Tom Tonks (16 Jediael Abbey 90m), 9 Kaiman Anderson (17 Jake Charles 80m), 10 Alex Fletcher, 11 Joe Cuff (14 Joe Kenton 90+2m). Unused Subs: 12 Michael Tait-Moran, 15 Ben Woods

Stalybridge Celtic: 1 Liam Hughes, 2 Matthew Liptrott, 3 Ashley Smith-Brown, Sam Wedgbury, 5 Connor O’Grady, 6 Keenan Quansah, 7 Jay Fitzmartin (14 Aaron Grewal 74m), 8 Charley Doyle (12 Matthew Jones 74m), 9 Raul Correia, 10 Callum Harris, 11 Justin Johnson. Unused Subs 15 Gadeao Varela, 16 Stephen O’Halloran – only four subs named

Cautions: None

Referee: Liam Corbett

Att: 679

Report: Chris Elsley

 

 

 

Stafford Rangers 2 Walsall Wood 2 (4-1 on Pens)

Stafford Rangers 2 Walsall Wood 2 (4-1 on Pens)

Staffordshire Senior Cup QF
Tuesday 15 February 2022

Stafford Rangers booked themselves a Staffs Senior Cup semi final tie with Stoke City by the skin of their teeth after needing a penalty shoot out to see off Walsall Wood.

Kaiman Anderson’s equaliser with the final touch of the game saved Rangers from an embarrassing exit against a team from two levels below.

Despite making five changes to the starting line up, Rangers fielding a strong line up and could have had few complaints had the Midland Football League side gone through. It was a disjointed performance from the home side with too many performances falling below standard.

Everything had looked to be going to plan when Joe Cuff fired his side ahead on 17 minutes following Tom Tonks’ long throw from the right but Wood struck back quickly and Adam McGurk levelled on 25 minutes, finishing off a good attack with a shot that took a deflection on its way past Luke Pilling.

Anderson should have restored Rangers’ lead but blasted over from 6 yards after good work from Theo Bailey-Jones before Kevin Monteiro stunned Rangers with a super strike from around 40 yards out to put the visitors ahead on 37 minutes.

Rangers shooting was found wanting as efforts from Bailey-Jones and Ben Woods were well off target and they went in at the interval still trailing.

Pilling prevented McGurk from extending Wood’s lead early in the second half while Rangers struggled to threaten the visitors’ goal with Ethan Stewart heading over and a tame shot from Cuff not troubling Callum Smith.

Stafford kept pressing but with time running out it looked like they were going to suffer their first defeat in the competition since 2017. Anderson skied over while Michael Tait-Moran and Tre Pemberton both headed wide.

In a last gasp effort, Tonks’ throw resulted in a scramble in the Wood area and a desperate attempt to clear the lines saw the ball strike Anderson in the face and rebound into the net to take the game to penalties.

Cuff and Anderson scored from their kicks either side of Jordan Fitzpatrick netting for Wood. Pilling saved from Jai Verma and Pemberton made it 3-1. After McGurk sent his kick high over the Social Club roof, it was left to Stewart to send Rangers through, 4-1.

Stafford Rangers: 1 Luke Pilling, 2 Andrew Burns, 3 Ben Woods (17 James O’Neill 80m), 4 Louis Malandjou, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 Joe Dunne, 7 Joe Kenton (14 Tre Pemberton 69m), 8 Tom Tonks, 9 Kaiman Anderson, 10 Theo Bailey-Jones (12 Michael Tait-Moran 69m), 11 Joe Cuff. Unused Subs: 15 Alex-Ray Harvey, 16 Alex Fletcher

Walsall Wood: 1 Callum Smith, 2 Matthew Hughes, 3 Kamol Campbell, 4 Tyreace Brown, 5 Phillip McKerdy (16 JD Lionga 89m), 6 Corey Currithers (12 Jordan Fitzpatrick 80m), 7 Jai Verma, 8 Kevin Monteiro, 9 Adam McGurk, 10 Kaden May, 11 Sam Unitt. Unused Subs 14 Hayden Purves, 15 Declan Somel, 17 Hagi Jikineh

Cautions: Campbell, Monteiro (Walsall Wood)

Ref: Michael D’Aguilar

Att: 248

Report: Chris Elsley

Bamber Bridge 1 Stafford Rangers 3

Bamber Bridge 1 Stafford Rangers 3

Pitching In Northern Premier League
Saturday 12 February 2022

Stafford Rangers maintained their unbeaten record in 2022 with a comprehensive victory at Bamber Bridge.

It was an all round impressive performance which got off to the best possible start when Tom Tonks put them ahead after just one minute.

The goal came after Tre Pemberton chased a long clearance from Ethan Stewart which caused uncertainty in the home defence. Pemberton did well to keep the ball in play and set up Kaiman Anderson. His shot was blocked on the line by Callum Spooner but Tonks pounced to score his 10th goal of the season as Brig failed to clear their lines.

It threatened to be a short lived lead but Jacob Holland-Wilkinson fluffed his lines with an air shot when the goal was at his mercy while Stewart got in an important header during a scramble soon after.

Holland-Wilkinson forced a save from Luke Pilling while Adam Dawson volleyed over from the angle and sent another centre flashing across the face of goal.

Rangers extended their lead on 35 minutes when Anderson’s challenge forced another error in the Brig defence. Alex-Ray Harvey was first to the loose ball and held off the challenge of Aaron Skinner to tuck home a rare goal for the midfielder.

It was 3-0 just a couple of minutes into the second half. Pemberton charged down a clearance from Spooner putting Anderson in. James Cottam made the save but Pemberton won the race to the loose ball to reward another impressive outing for the youngster.

A minute earlier, Bamber Bridge could have reduced the arrears through Holland-Wilkinson and the home side went close again with Stewart making an important block to deny the home number 9 and Pilling saving a dipping 30 yarder from Craig Carney.

Bamber suffered a further set back when they were reduced to 10 men on 54 minutes. A great touch from Anderson put Pemberton away but the former was felled by Nathan Pond as he continued his run. Pond – cautioned earlier for an off the ball foul on Andy Burns – was shown a second yellow, followed by the inevitable red.

For a time, Rangers looked set to further extend their lead. Stewart had a header cleared off the line by Chris Churchman and an unmarked Anderson headed wide from Burns’ centre.

It was a fluke goal that gave the home side some hope with 13 minutes remaining. Stewart sliced an attempted clearance from Carney’s centre and the ball looped over Pilling.

Brig picked their game up but Paul Dawson headed over from a corner while it needed a well timed block from Burns to prevent Jake Thompson from inflicting any further damage.

Bamber Bridge: 1 James Cottam, 2 Chris Churchman, 3 Matthew Thomson, 4 Callum Spooner, 5 Macauley Wilson (12 Fin Sinclair-Smith 46m), 6 Nathan Pond, 7 Adam Dawson, 8 Craig Carney, 9 Jacob Holland-Wilkson, 10 Aaron Skinner (15 Paul Dawson 59m), 11 Mark Yeates (14 Jake Thompson 71m). Unused Subs 16 Daniel Martin, 17 Isaac Sinclair

Stafford Rangers: 1 Luke Pilling, 2 Andrew Burns, 3 Joe Dunne , 4 Alex-Ray Harvey, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 James O’Neill, 7 Tre Pemberton (15 Joe Kenton 89m), 8 Tom Tonks, 9 Kaiman Anderson, 10 Alex Fletcher, 11 Michael Tait-Moran (12 Ben Woods 75m). Unused Subs: 13 Tyrell Belford, 14 Louis Malandjou, 16 Theo Bailey-Jones

Cautions: Wilson, Yeates (Bamber Bridge)
Sent Off: Pond (2 cautions) (Bamber Bridge)

Ref: Declan Brown

Att: 403

Report: Chris Elsley

Stafford Rangers 0 Whitby Town 0

Stafford Rangers 0 Whitby Town 0

Pitching In Northern Premier League
Saturday 5 February 2022

Tre Pemberton - Open House Man Of The MatchStafford Rangers’ recorded their fifth draw in six games as they kept up their unbeaten record in 2022.

While the wait for a home win stretched to nine games, the home camp were pleased with the outcome after injury and covid isolation ruled out six players – leaving the Boro only able to name two outfield players on the bench with keeper Tyrell Belford the third named substitute.

Rangers’ depleted line up was further hit when Michael Tait limped off on 15 minutes with a hamstring injury.

With a strong wind blowing downfield, the first half produced little to stick in the memory until stoppage time when Stafford keeper Luke Pilling pulled off one of his customary top class saves, diving to his left to push away a volley from Priestley Griffiths.

But, with the wind in their backs, the home fans might still have expected more from their side in the first half. Instead it was Whitby who looked the most likely to open the scoring for much of the half.

Jacob Hazel tput the ball in the Rangers’ net just before the half hour mark but he was flagged offside – an easy decision for the assistant.

It was a bit of a wake up call for Rangers who created their best chance a minute later only for Kaiman Anderson to shoot tamely wide.

Alex Fletcher and James O’Neill both volleyed well over but Whitby finished on top with Pilling forced to save from Harry Green after Hazel had charged down Ethan Stewart’s clearance before Griffiths was denied by Pilling just before the interval.

The second half was a more entertaining affair and saw Rangers playing a much better game.

Shane Bland turned an inswinger from Anderson on to the roof of the net then both Stewart and O’Neill were denied by goal line clearances from Adam Gell and Jon Burn respectively.

Fletcher declined a first time shot and, when he finally sent the ball goalwards, it was an easy gather for Bland while Stewart went close again with Bland forced into another tip over.

The visitors remained firmly in the contest and Rangers needed a goal-line clearance from Stewart to keep out Lewis Hawkins. A scramble ensued before Rangers managed to clear the danger.

Stewart found himself in the thick of the action at both ends but he was unable to find a clear shot in another scramble – this time in the Whitby area.

Tre Pemberton – with a man of the match performance on his first league start – and Andy Burns tried their luck without success while Whitby’s Green outwitted himself when well placed for the visitors.

Play off hopefuls Whitby upped the pressure in the final stages with the introduction of Malik Dijksteel but they failed to test Pilling, the best opportunity seeing a centre from Green skim off the head of Jameel Ible.

Stafford Rangers: 13 Luke Pilling, 2 Andrew Burns, 3 Joe Dunne , 4 Alex-Ray Harvey, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 James O’Neill, 7 Michael Tait-Moran (12 Ben Woods 16m), 8 Tom Tonks, 9 Kaiman Anderson, 10 Alex Fletcher, 11 Tre Pemberton. Unused Subs: 1 Tyrell Belford, 14 Louis Malandjou – only three subs named

Whitby Town: 1 Shane Bland, 2 Jameel Ible, 3 Jaseem Sukar, 4 Adam Gell, 5 Dan Rowe, 6 Jon Burn, 7 Priestley Griffiths, 8 Lewis Hawkins, 9 Jacob Hazel, 10 Harry Green, 11 Josh MacDonald (18 Malik Dijksteel 71m). Unused Subs 12 Jake Hackett, 14 Coleby SHepherd, 15 Nathan Dyer, 16 Soni Fergus

Cautions: Burns (Rangers), Ible, Rowe, Burn (Whitby)

Referee: Sam Wesson

Att: 580

Report: Chris Elsley