Evo-Stik Northern Premier League
Tuesday 13 March 2018
Levi Reid was the unlikely hero as Rangers held high flying Warrington Town to a draw at Marston Road on Tuesday night. The veteran midfielder came on as a 55th minute substitute for keeper Brad Caswell and, despite standing at just 5’ 5” and wearing a shirt that looked two sizes too big, kept out the promotion hopefuls to earn his side a draw.
In truth, Reid was only tested once – in the final minute of the game – but he did what he needed to do in making the save from Jack Higgins. Rangers made four changes to the starting eleven after Saturday’s dramatic draw with Lancaster. Getting a recall were Sam Griffiths, Jack Sherratt, Tyrell Waite and Massiah McDonald while Kyle Perry, Joe Thomas and Levi Reid dropped to the bench. Dan Vann was missing through illness.
Rangers found themselves on the backfoot for much of the first half as Warrington moved the ball around when in possession and closed down quickly when defending. The visitors took no time to settle and saw Jamie McDonald come close to opening the scoring inside the first minute when he forced Caswell to save low to his right after a move involving Devarn Green and Tony Gray. But that was the only real chance they created in the first 20 mins and it needed a slip from Jordaan Brown to present them with their next opportunity. A quick throw from McDonald allowed Gray to centre but the ball went across goal and just beyond Sean Williams.
Rangers responded through Massiah McDonald who wasn’t too far off with a shot from in excess of 30 yards but although the tempo was fast and frantic, chances at either end remained a premium. Things did pick up after the half hour as shots came in from Gray and Williams but both were well off target. William Hayhurst was closer with his effort but still went wide. For Rangers, Josh Craddock also went wide with a looping header following Robert Thompson-Brown’s free kick.
Rangers looked sharper after the break, matching Warrington for their attacking intent while remaining solid at the back. Then came the moment that brought Levi Reid into the action as manager Neil Kitching decided not to risk Caswell’s groin injury any longer. But the team rallied and decided that attack was the best form of defence and continued to press the Warrington goal.
Massiah McDonald through a crowd of Warrington players to pick out Craddock but the skipper’s shot went through tamely to Luke Pilling then McDonald curled a decent effort just over the bar. Warrington took 20 minutes to create any sort of threat to the stand in Rangers keeper when they won a corner but it was defended well before Reid eventually claimed possession.
In the latter stages, the visitors saw Mathias Bakare balloon a shot over when well placed but they should have snatched victory in the final minute of added time. Kieren Westwood lost possession on the break allowing Liam Goulding to launch the counter. Warrington’s McDonald laid off to Higgins but Reid saved with his legs. The ball ran back to McDonald but he somehow managed to fire over an inviting goal from around 6 yards.
A deserved point for Rangers, it’s just a shame there were only 301 to watch it.
Rangers: 1 Brad Caswell (15 Levi Reid 55m), 2 Sam Griffiths, 3 Kieren Westwood, 4 Kieran Morris, 5 Jordaan Brown, 6 Josh Craddock, 7 Izak Reid (16 Osebi Abadaki 68m), 8 Jack Sherratt, 9 Tyrell Waite (12 Kyle Perry 81m), 10 Robert Thompson-Brown, 11 Massiah McDonald. Unused subs: 14 Joe Thomas, 17 Dan Westwood
Warrington: 1 Luke Pilling, 2 Adam Carden, 3 Rory McKeown, 4 Steven Jennings, 5 JackHiggins, 6 Liam Goulding, 7 Devarn Green (17 Mathias Bakare 66m), 8 Sean Williams, 9 Jamie McDonald, 10 Tony Gray (16 Bradley Barnes 80m), 11 William Hayhurst (14 Joe Piggott 74m). Unused Subs: 12 Jamie Davis, 15 Anthony McMillan
Cautions: Morris (Rangers), Goulding, Gray (Warrington)
Ref: Greg Rollason
Att: 301
Chris Elsley
