Staffs Senior Cup 3rd round
Tuesday 20 March 2018
Stafford Rangers booked themselves a place in the semi finals of the Staffs Senior Cup with a comfortable victory over Kidsgrove Athletic at Marston Road.
There was little danger of an upset coming from the NPL Div One South outfit as Rangers took charge from the off and the only disappointment was that they didn’t have more goals to show for it. On a cold night, Josh Craddock warmed the hands of visiting keeper Dave Parton after just 5 mins with a powerful 25 yard drive.
Robert Thompson-Brown tried his luck with an excellent drive from further out that Parton pushed away for a corner then the dead ball specialist was inches away with a free kick. Massiah McDonald was next to threaten but he put his shot into the side netting. There was an element of luck involved when Rangers’ opener finally came on 19 mins as Levi Reid’s cross from near to the right hand by line was missed by Kyle Perry but went in via the inside of the far post.
Kidsgrove should have been level soon after when a slip from Jordaan Brown let in Lee Cropper but the Grove forward stabbed over when well placed. Just before the half hour, Cropper was guilty again, firing over after being set up by Tim Sanders who fired just wide himself towards the end of the half.
Despite these chances for the visitors, Rangers remained in control but never really tested Parton although Perry’s shot on the turn wasn’t too far off target. The game turned a little feisty in the last five minutes of the half following a bad tackle by Craddock on Rhys Thompson which earned the Rangers’ skipper a caution while Grove’s Leon Ashman also found himself in the book.
Thankfully, tempers had calmed by the players returned for the second half and Rangers soon stamped their authority on the game when they extended their lead in the 47th minute. A Sam Griffiths free kick saw McDonald’s shot blocked. He laid the ball back for Kieren Westwood and by Perry beat Parton to his deep cross to head Rangers two up. Rangers then seemed to sit back a little, but easily dealt with anything Kidsgrove could muster up.
The margin between the two sides became more reflective in the scoreline on 61 mins when Kieran Morris headed home a Thompson-Brown corner to make it 3-0. Parton parried Jack Sherratt’s 30 yard drive for a corner, denied Izak Reid at his near post and pushed away a Thompson-Brown free kick as Rangers went in search of further goals. And it came on 77 mins through a free kick but with Thompson-Brown taking a well earned rest, the duties were left to Izak Reid and he fired into the top corner.
16 year old Lucas Burnett was given a ten minute outing and he had two great chances to open his account but Alex Lingard scrambled the ball away for the first and then Thompson made a good block from the second when the goal seemed certain. Rangers now face Wolverhampton Sporting Community in the semi final with the winners taking on either Hednesford Town or Stoke City in the final at the BET365 stadium later next month.
Rangers: 1 Adam Whitehouse, 2 Sam Griffiths, 3 Kieren Westwood, 4 Kieran Morris, 5 Jordaan Brown, 6 Josh Craddock (14 Jack Sherratt 46m), 7 Levi Reid, 8 Robert Thompson-Brown (12 Tyrell Waite 72m), 9 Kyle Perry (16 Lucas Burnett 81m), 10 Massiah McDonald, 11 Izak Reid. Unused Subs: 15 Osebi Abadaki, 17 Riley Stephenson
Kidsgrove Athletic: 1 Dave Parton, 2 Rhys Thompson, 3 Alex Lingard, 4 Oliver Jepson, 5 Leon Ashman (12 Ryan Austin 72m), 6 Ross Davidson, 7 Kyle Diskin, 8 Shaun Rhodes, 9 Tim Sanders, 10 Lee Cropper, 11 Geoff McGaw. Unused subs: 14 Dan Skelton, 15 Anthony Malbon, 16 Jon Beaumont, 17 Jackson McKeever
Cautions: Craddock (Rangers) Jepson, Ashman (Kidsgrove)
Ref: Ben Watkiss
Att: 170
Report: Chris Elsley
