Stafford Rangers v Hyde United

REPORT

A late strike from Jack Baxter earned Stafford Rangers a point from a game that looked to be going the way of visitors Hyde United.

Manager Matt Hill kept faith with the same XI that had started Saturday’s drawn game against Guiseley and he saw his side go on an early attack which culminated with Tom Tonks getting in a shot on goal but it was no threat to Dan Atherton.

Another Rangers attack broke down when Derek Ubah’s pass hit the heels of team-mate Ethan Stewart. Hyde took advantage to launch a counter attack with Tom Pratt launching a long cross field ball to Joe McGlynn who was only denied a shot by a timely intervention from Andy Burns. With the visitors still in the Stafford half, Pratt tried his luck from the edge of the area but sent his shot over the Stafford bar.

Tonks intercepted a poor clearance and, spotting keeper Atherton out of position, sent in a shot from midway inside the Hyde half but it drifted just wide.

Stafford continued to look for an opener and enjoyed a good spell when a corner was glanced over by Stewart then Tonks forced Atherton into a fine save when he clipped a shot towards the top right corner.

But, after almost going ahead, Rangers found themselves behind in the 24th minute. An error from Joe Dunne allowed the ball to reach Pratt and he broke away to beat Cam Belford with an excellent strike.

Manasse Mampala went close to adding a second with a shot across goal while Liam Tongue fired wide from Pratt’s lay off.

Rangers’ best effort to get back level before the interval came from the boot of Baxter who shot just over the top corner of the goal.

Hyde skipper Bradley Roscoe was denied twice in the space of a minute – firstly by Andy Burns’ excellent block then a spectacular goal-line clearance from Stewart.

At the opposite end, Rangers’ had a setback when hardworking forward, Kaiman Anderson, limped off with a hamstring injury.

They did have chances, notably when Stewart headed over following a free kick from Baxter. It was Baxter who earned his side a point in the 82nd minute with a shot from the edge of the area that glanced off a Hyde defender before nestling in the corner of the net.

Hyde were not prepared to settle for a point and came close to restoring their lead when McGlynn forced a good save from Belford with a near post flick following Tongue’s corner.

Rangers also sensed a winner and Baxter could have grabbed it when he cleverly robbed Harry Ditchfield but, having done the hard work, he fired wide.

It would have been harsh on Hyde had Baxter found the net. For Rangers, it was their third consecutive 1-1 draw as the NPL continues to demonstrate that it will be one of the closest fought contests for many a year with just seven points separating the top 16 teams in the table.

Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Joe Dunne, 4 Jack Baxter, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 Derek Ubah, 7 Alex Kiwomya (16 Jaiden White 46m), 8 Tom Tonks (12 Darius Smith 90+4m), 9 Kaiman Anderson (14 Joe Willis 64m), 10 Alex-Ray Harvey, 11 Joe Kenton. Unused Subs 13 Jack Sandel, 15 Luis Morrison-Derbyshire

Hyde United: 1 Dan Atherton, 2 Harry Ditchfield, 3 Javid Neavin, 4 Aaron Fleming, 5 Jordan Fagbola, 6 Bradley Roscoe, 7 Manasse Mampala, 8 Sonny Whittingham, 9 Joe McGlynn (15 Eddie Brown 90m), 10 Liam Tongue, 11 Tom Pratt. Unused Subs: 12 Josh Askew, 14 Jack Redshaw, 16 Edy Maieco, 17 Adam Dawson

Referee: James Lunn

Cautions: Stewart (Rangers), Pratt (Hyde)

Att 567

Report by Chris Elsley