Belper Town v Stafford Rangers

REPORT

Stafford Rangers gave a poor display to open 2023 with defeat at bottom of the table Belper Town.

The result meant that the Derbyshire side completed a league double against Rangers on their way to recording only their fourth win of the campaign.

Manager Matt Hill went with the same starting XI that had beaten Nantwich on Boxing Day and his side looked to gain an early advantage as Alex Kiwomya got to the by-line but he put the ball behind three waiting Stafford players and the chance was gone.

Kiwomya also failed to deliver with a couple of dead ball situations while Kaiman Anderson could only find home keeper Owen Mason from a tight angle.

Shortly before Anderson’s effort, Belper had their first look in when Tom Wilson headed goalwards but it lacked power.

Brodie Litchfield fired over from the edge but it was somewhat against the run of play that Belper went ahead on 12 minutes.

Paulo Aguas sent a free kick into the Stafford area. A Stafford defender appeared to get the only contact to send the ball past Cam Belford although midfielder Litchfield made the claim.

Rangers hit back within two minutes. Belper’s Todd Jordan could only flick on Tom Tonks’ long throw and Callum Saunders had a simple finish at the back post.

But Belper went back in front on 18 minutes when Akeem HInds failed to deal with a clearance from Mason and Aguas advanced to fire past Belford.

Litchfield looked set to extend the lead when he broke into the area following some good play from the home side but Luis Morrison-Derbyshire intervened with a well timed tackle.

At the other end, Kiwomya forced a near post save from Mason but it was the home side who looked most likely to score.

Ben Middleton wasted the best chance before the break when he sliced high and very wide.

Rangers replaced Tonks with Alex-Ray Harvey for the second half but he was unable to change his side’s fortunes as the Boro remained below par.

Even when they were reduced to 10 men on 53 minutes, it was the home side who looked the better of the two sides.

The sending off came after Belper captain Ben Middleton caught Joe Willis with a late challenge and referee Ashley Allen didn’t hesitate to bring out the red card.

A poor header from O’Neill allowed Jack Butterfill to send Jacob Gratton away. A scramble ensued in the Stafford area and the referee looked set to award a penalty before eventually allowing play to continue.

In a rare threat from Stafford, Jack Baxter forced his way into the Belper area before eventually finding his path to goal blocked by Mason. The corner that followed was headed over by Andy Burns.

Stafford became increasingly exposed at the back and Belper again went close after Gratton cut inside O’Neill and drew Belford off his near post but Burns prevented a certain looking goal with a timely tackle while Butterfill missed out on a chance to seal the points following a counter attack in the closing stages.

But it mattered not as Rangers were short of ideas on a day when their quality of play was also sadly lacking.

Belper Town: 1 Owen Mason, 2 Ben Middleton, 3 Ben Rhodes, 4 Harry Middleton, 5 Tom Wilson, 6 Todd Jordan, 7 Brodie Litchfield, 8 Jay Glover, 9 Jacob Gratton, 10 Jack Butterfill (15 Ethan Cartwright 88m), 11 Paulo Aguas. Unused Subs 12 Wilf Evans, 14 Charlie Reaney, 16 Lewis Austin, 17 Harrison Davison-Hale

Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Akeem HInds, 4 Jack Baxter, 5 Luis Morrison-Derbyshire, 6 Jimmy O’Neill (16 Jaiden White 79m), 7 Alex Kiwomya (15 Joe Kenton 89m), 8 Tom Tonks (17 Alex-Ray Harvey 46m), 9 Kaiman Anderson, 10 Callum Saunders, 11 Joe Willis. Unused subs 12 Ethan Stewart, 14 Joe Dunne

Referee: Ashley Allen

Cautions: Litchfield, Aguas (Belper)

Sent Off: B Middleton (Belper)

Att: 681

Report by Chris Elsley