Stafford Rangers v Lichfield City

REPORT

Stafford Rangers began their defence of the Staffs Senior Cup with victory over Lichfield City in the first ever competitive meeting between the two clubs. It wasn’t a thriller but Lichfield did manage to conjure up a couple of scares for Rangers in the final five minutes.

Matt Hill made six changes to the side beaten by Atherton on Saturday with Jimmy O’Neill making his first start since his return to the club although it turned out to be a frustrating night for the central defender as he was forced off through injury just before half time. O’Neill’s injury aside, a number of players given the opportunity failed to make a strong case for a place in the starting line up for Saturday’s trip to Bamber Bridge.

Seconds earlier, Rangers had gone ahead via a Tom Tonks penalty after Jaiden White had been brought down by Lichfield keeper James Beeson.

On a freezing cold night, there wasn’t too much to warm the hands of the small crowd that had braved the weather. Apart from a solitary shot on goal from Lichfield’s Dan Lomas, there was little worthy of note in the opening 20 minutes. Somewhat cruelly, the biggest cheer came when referee Michael D’Aguilar went to ground after colliding with one of the visiting players and required treatment from Sports Therapist Stacey Barley.

It took Rangers until the half had passed its midway point before they tried on their shooting boots as Ethan Morgan struck the side netting.

A combative Tonks tried his luck from a few yards inside the Lichfield half after spotting the Lichfield keeper off his line but he was rushed into his effort and sent the ball high over the bar.

It was captain for the night Tonks who fired home the only goal of the night on 42 minutes.

Jack Baxter looked to put Jaiden White through with a long ball. Leighton McMenemy made the initial interception but failed to clear his lines. White saw his chance and got in behind the Lichfield defence. He was tripped by Beeson as he went round the visiting keeper and the referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty which was expertly converted byTonks.

Before the half time whistle blew, the two Ethan’s – Morgan and Stewart – both had chances to add to the lead as Rangers looked to build on their advantage.

The second half saw Rangers set up camp in the Lichfield half without moving into top gear.

Baxter fired high over following a good lay off from Stewart, Ntumba Massanka missed out at the back post thanks to the intervention of Tom Hurdman and Jamie Elkes booted a header from Luis Morrison-Derbyshire off the line following a long throw from Tonks as Rangers looked most likely to add to the evening’s goal tally.

But a single goal lead always invites a late challenge from the opposition and Lichfield finally upped sticks and went scouting in the Stafford half.

With 5 minutes left on the clock, Sam Fitzgerald rolled a free kick to Tom Parker on the edge of the area. His shot took a couple of deflections and it needed an acrobatic clearance from Joe Dunne to keep Rangers in front.

Lichfield shouts for a penalty when Stewart and Parker both went down in the area were rejected and instead saw a free kick go Rangers’ way.

The visitors probed again. In the 90th minute, Beeson’s long free kick was played back in by Fitzgerald and saw a touch of class from Lomas as he used his chest to control before he whipped in a volley towards the top corner.

Fortunately for Rangers, Belford matched Lomas for quality with an excellent two handed save to his left to see his side through to the 3rd round.

Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Darius Smith, 3 Joe Dunne, 4 Jack Baxter, 5 Luis Morrison-Derbyshire, 6 James O’Neill (12 Ethan Stewart 42m), 7 Jaiden White, 8 Tom Tonks, 9 Ethan Morgan, 10 Joe Willis, 11 Ntumba Massanka. Unused subs 13 Jack Sandel, 14 Kaiman Anderson, 15 Andy Burns, 16 Alex Kiwomya

Lichfield City: 1 James Beeson, 2 Tom Hurdman, 3 Joe Haines, 4 Jamie Elkes, 5 Leighton McMenemy, 6 Kyle Baxter (12 Sam Fitzgerald 67m), 7 John Johnston (15 Tom Parker 54m), 8 Kyle Patterson, 9 Ethan Muckley (14 Lewi Burnside 62m), 10 Dan Lomas, 11 Luke Childs. Only 3 subs named

Referee: Michael D’Aguilar

Cautions: None

Att : 147

Report by Chris Elsley