Nov 16, 2024
Stafford Rangers picked up their first point in four games but it was so close to being all three as visitors Trafford levelled with less than two minutes of the 90 remaining.
Rangers were without Dan Cockerline who dislocated his shoulder in the game at Chasetown while Ben O’Hanlon was suspended. Their absence allowed a first start for forward Andre Wright with Sean Lawton coming in at left back.
The first half was a scrappy affair with neither side able to match their commitment with quality, particularly in the final third.
The visitors were first to show with Rio Clegg cutting in from the left and forcing Stafford keeper Cam Belford to push away his inswinging shot.
Both Wright and John Atherton missed out for Stafford when chances came their way as the home side began to establish themselves.
Midway through the half, Belford made an excellent stop to keep out Clegg with the Trafford forward looking set to score – the opening came after a good run from Isaac Noble down the right.
Again, Rangers responded with visiting keeper Samuel Booth getting a hand to a shot from Jack Burgess before Jimmy O’Neill headed into the side netting.
But the best chances still fell to Trafford. Clegg forced his way through the Stafford defence but Ryley Smith put his shot wide of the far post, then Clegg also went wide with a shot from distance.
The first half ended with Rangers on top. James McQuilkin put Joe Cuff away but the recently returned forward ran out of steam and the combined efforts of Jordan Fagbola and Harry Norris extinguished the threat. Soon after, an overhead kick from Cuff landed on the roof of the net.
As with the first half, Trafford were first to threaten in the second with Belford again saving from Clegg. A minute later, the Stafford keeper came out quickly to block Matthew Morgan after Clegg had been unable to convert.
At the other end, Booth denied Kaiman Anderson but the Trafford keeper made a terrible error when he allowed Cuff’s shot to slip through his hands and present Stafford with a 62nd minute lead.
Trafford looked for an immediate response but Jerome Wright sent his free kick over the bar while Clegg missed the target once more before Belford parried away a shot from Brad Byrne.
As the game entered its final twenty minutes, it was Stafford who looked most likely to add to the score. Both Anderson and Wright had several chances but only once was Booth called into action.
Failure to take those chances proved costly when, in the 88th minute, Lawton was unable to cut out a long ball from Fagbola. Clegg squared and Trafford sub Cian Donahue converted from close range.
Ashley Fallon almost snatched a late winner for Stafford but Booth made amends for his earlier error when he dived to his right to earn his side a point.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Cameron Belford, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Sean Lawton, 4 James McQuilkin, 5 Jimmy O’Neill, 6 Michael McGrath, 7 John Atherton (14 Callum King-Harmes 63m), 8 Jack Burgess (15 Ashley Fallon 56m), 9 Andre Wright, 10 Kaiman Anderson, 11 Joe Cuff (12 Joe Morley 69m. Unused Subs 16 Dylan Barkers, 17 Stanley Anaebonam
Trafford: 1 Samuel Booth, 2 Jack Higginbottom, 3 Ryley Smith (12 Damola Sotona 60m), 4 Jordan Fagbola, 5 Harry Norris, 6 Matthew Morgan (14 Matthew Lusakueno 65m), 7 Hilal Khan, 8 Brad Byrne (17 Cian Donahue 79m), 9 Rio Clegg, 10 Isaac Noble (15 Jack Donahue 79m), 11 Jerome Wright. Unused Sub 16 Demitre Holness
Referee: Jordan Brooks
Cautions: McGrath (Stafford), J Wright (Trafford)
Attendance: 717
Report by Chris Elsley
Oct 19, 2024
The promise shown in recent performances came to fruition as Stafford Rangers hit Atherton Collieries for five at a sunny Stan Robinson Stadium.
Rangers made one change to the side beaten by Wythenshawe with Jimmy O’Neill getting his first action for 6 weeks in place of the suspended Michael McGrath.
Dale Belford’s side were in control from kick off and wasted no time in getting the ball into dangerous areas and Dan Cockerline stabbed wide at the near post.
Atherton suffered a set back when Toba Obitayo picked up an early injury but his replacement Will Riding proved to be one of the visitors’ better players on a disappointing afternoon for the visitors.
It was a free kick from the substitute that resulted in Cam Belford making the first save of the afternoon as he tipped over a free header from Callen Gallagher. A minute earlier, Alex Doyle had gone wide from 25 yards.
As well as displaying his defensive qualities, O’Neill proved a constant threat to Atherton with his long throw ins. Joe Morley had headed over from one and a second caused problems in the six yard area before the visitors were awarded a free kick.
But, it was from one of those long throws that Rangers took a deserved lead on 28 minutes – the ball glancing off the head of Gallagher and John Atherton got in ahead of his man to force the ball home from close range.
A minute later, it was 2-0. Cockerline out played Danny Lafferty on the left and although Atherton was unable to take the chance, the ball fell nicely for Kaiman Anderson to drill home his first goal since returning to the club.
Rangers continued to dominate but a misunderstanding between Andy Burns – making the 500th appearance of his career – and Scott Wara allowed Tom Warren to set up Lewis Rawsthorn but with just Belford to beat, the Colls’ number 9 placed his effort badly wide.
Seconds later, Belford gathered a scuffed shot from Keilan Adams but any nerves in the Stafford camp were overcome and they took their two goal advantage into the break.
Visiting boss Michael Clegg made three changes for the second half and his side showed more stability if not posing more of a threat up front but the important third goal fell to the home side on the hour mark.
A right wing corner from the impressive James McQuilkin was met by Wara. His header struck Josh Solomon-Davies but Atherton was first to react and hooked home his second of the afternoon.
Any lingering doubts as to where the points would be heading were well and truly put to bed on 68 minutes when Cockerline ran on to a long kick from Belford and beat Ellis Litherland inside his right hand post.
Anderson made it 5-0 on 85 minutes when he scored from around six yards following a low centre from Stanley Anaebonam before Alfie Belcher missed a good chance for a consolation goal for the visitors.
It was Rangers’ biggest win since April 2022 when they beat Ashton United by the same scoreline but, more importantly, it went some way to improving their negative goal difference.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Cameron Belford, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Ben O’Hanlon, 4 Ashley Fallon (12 Jack Burgess 85m), 5 Jimmy O’Neill, 6 Scott Wara, 7 John Atherton (16 Stanley Anaebonam 78m), 8 James McQuilkin, 9 Dan Cockerline (14 Luca Whitney 78m), 10 Kaiman Anderson, 11 Joe Morley (17 Sean Lawton 87m) Unused Subs 15 Sean Cooke
Atherton Collieries: 1 Ellis Litherland, 2 Bobby Bjork (16 Josh Solomon-Davies 46m), 3 Tom Warren, 4 Toba Obitayo (17 Will Riding 12m), 5 Danny Lafferty, 6 Callen Gallagher, 7 Alex Doyle, 8 Danny Lambert (15 Alfie Belcher 46m), 9 Lewis Rawsthorn, 10 Keilan Adams, 11 Ethan Kershaw (14 Pa Babou Jenkins 46m). Unused Subs 12 Tom Bentham
Cautions: C Belford, Burns (Rangers), Lafferty, Adams (Atherton)
Referee: Tom Wall
Attendance: 654
Report by Chris Elsley
Oct 8, 2024
No goals but plenty to entertain in this Staffordshire derby.
Rangers had the better chances but found visiting keeper Kieran Harrison on top form and, on the one time he was beaten, Dan Cockerline’s terrific shot came back off the cross bar.
Dale Belford made one change to the side that won at Bootle three days earlier with Kaiman Anderson coming straight in to the side following his return to the club from troubled Walsall Wood. Making way was Dylan Barkers who had to settle for a place on the bench.
Rangers played some good football in their approach. James McQuilkin had his best game to date with an energetic display in midfield while newcomer Ashley Fallon also played his part providing some of the grit that has been lacking.
First half chances were plentiful with Anderson failing with an overhead kick after Harrison had parried away Joe Morley’s centre. Soon after, Fallon saw his drive fly over after Anderson had delayed pulling the trigger himself.
It wasn’t all one way and Kidsgrove were keen to launch their own attacks but they didn’t ask the same questions of Cam Belford as Rangers were of Harrison.
This was down to some committed defending typified when Michael McGrath threw himself in front of a shot from Kyle Diskin on the half hour.
Rangers quickly switched to the opposite end through an accurate long ball from Belford. It was taken down well by Cockerline and saw his opportunity only for the ball to rattle the cross bar.
Anderson had two further chances to break the deadlock before the half time whistle but he was denied by Harrison diving low to his right with the first and put the second just wide after good work from Stanley Anaebonam.
The second half started on the same script with Anaebonam causing more problems on the right. Anderson helped the ball across the face of goal where Morley was waiting to pounce but good defending from Harry Goode allowed Harrison to smother.
Less than a minute later, Morley headed forward to Cockerline who, spotting Harrison off his line, tried a lob with the outside of his right boot but it lacked accuracy.
Soon after, Kidsgrove’s Owen Harrison tried a similar lob over Belford with the same outcome.
Keeper Harrison twice denied Anaebonam – the second when the Stafford midfielder was clear through after he was put in by Cockerline.
McGrath headed wide and Cockerline was just unable to get a touch on an inswinging centre from Anderson as Rangers continued to threaten. Harrison made another great save to keep out another Cockerline effort.
It was one of those nights when it would just not go in for Rangers but fears of a late ‘smash and grab’ from the visitors never materialised, despite them making a late push.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Cameron Belford, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Ben O’Hanlon, 4 Ashley Fallon, 5 Michael McGrath, 6 Scott Wara, 7 Stanley Anaebonam (14 Luca Whitney 77m), 8 James McQuilkin, 9 Dan Cockerline, 10 Kaiman Anderson, 11 Joe Morley (16 Jon Atherton 69m), Unused Subs 12 Aaron Opoku, 15 Sean Cooke, 17 Dylan Barkers
Kidsgrove Athletic: 1 Kieran Harrison, 2 Harry Goode, 3 Kyle Stubbs (14 Aaron Bott 82m), 4 Jack Bromfield, 5 Shaun Rhodes, 6 Ritchie Sutton (15 Jimmy Garlick 26m), 7 Kyle Diskin (12 Kingsley Gyamfi 64m), 8 Ernie Ofusu, 9 Matt Rhead, 10 Robbie Hatton (16 Dan Holdcroft 73m), 11 Owen Harrison. Unused Sub 17 Josh Oultram
Cautions: O’Hanlon, Fallon (Rangers), K Harrison, Bromfield (Kidsgrove)
Referee: Andrew Biggin
Attendance: 466
Report by Chris Elsley
Sep 28, 2024
Stafford Rangers’ manager Dave Cooke stepped down from his role just minutes after watching the club slump to their third consecutive home defeat.
Cooke had been in charge for a little over 10 months and in that time had failed to prevent the side from being relegated from the NPL Premier Division last season and slip into what looks like another relegation battle in the current campaign.
It is fair to say that Rangers have suffered with injuries and other players letting them down but many see the failure to find a recognised central defender as a key to the club’s problems this season.
On Saturday, Rangers weathered an initial opening that saw Widnes looking the livelier of the two sides and probably had the better of the chances in a goal-less first half.
Widnes’ wide man Sharif Deans was a constant threat to Stafford and missed out on a couple of early opportunities that came his way.
It took Rangers some 15 minutes to establish themselves and good play by Joe Robbins resulted in a centre from Sean Cooke striking Joe Morley before going wide.
Moments later, Stanley Anaebonam delayed his shot too long although Dan Cockerline should have done better when the ball ricocheted his way – the tall striker blazed over from around 12 yards.
The two Stafford players combined again but again Anaebonam missed out as his shot came back off Ben Rydel before Niall Battersby hacked clear.
Although they still looked the better of the two sides, that was the end of the Rangers’ challenge and Widnes had a couple more opportunities before the interval.
The closest of these was a mis-hit shot from Deans that looped up and Cam Belford had to take a couple of steps back before catching just under his cross bar.
Both sides made changes at the break with Tyrone Cadeau replacing Anaebonam but it failed to inspire the home side.
Instead, it was Widnes who opened the scoring on 61 minutes. Matty Rain’s corner was knocked back in by Dominic McGiveron and James Steele placed his header beyond the reach of Belford.
From then on, there was only one team in it. Rangers’ heads dropped and they looked as though they knew they were beaten.
Belford made a point blank save to keep out Jack McGowan with Steele going wide from the rebound.
But Steele wasn’t going to be denied and hit his second on 75 minutes when he found himself free on the right hand side of the area and lashed in a shot inside the left post.
A looping header from Cadeau was tipped over by Mark Halstead in a brief moment of encouragement for Stafford but Widnes finished off the job without much resistance.
Steele, on a counter attack, set up Adam Bott to make it 3-0 on 80 minutes then completed his hat trick on 86 minutes with a simple tap in after Deans squared from the left.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Cameron Belford, 2 James McQuilkin (12 Aaron Opoku 72m), 3 Ben O’Hanlon, 4 Dylan Barkers, 5 Andy Burns, 6 Sean Lawton, 7 Stanley Anaebonam (16 Tyrone Cadeau 46m) , 8 Joe Robbins, 9 Dan Cockerline, 10 Sean Cooke, 11 Joe Morley (17 Joe Mwasile 62m). Unused Subs 14 Jimmy O’Neill, 15 Luca Whitney
Widnes: 1 Mark Halstead, 2 Ben Rydel, 3 Matty Rain, 4 Brendon O’Brien (17 Jadel Musanhu 73m), 5 Niall Battersby, 6 Adam Bott, 7 Ste Irwin, 8 Paul Kyffin (16 Dominic McGiveron 46m), 9 Jack McGowan, 10 James Steele, 11 Sharif Deans (15 Nathan Caine 87m). Unused Subs 12 Nathan Corness, 14 Liam Paton
Cautions: O’Hanlon, Cockerline, Cooke (Stafford) Rain (Widnes)
Referee: Ashley Allen
Attendance: 461
Report by Chris Elsley
Sep 17, 2024
Stafford Rangers’ poor start to the season continued with a second home defeat in three days as Oldham based Avro FC ran out comfortable winners, scoring three well taken goals.
Once again Rangers lined up without a recognised central defender but it was not just in defence where they lacked the necessary ingredients.
Dylan Barkers was back in the starting line up but Stanley Anaebonam was absent through illness. Rangers didn’t appear too troubled at first as they competed well with their visitors and even took the lead in the 21st minute when Dan Cockerline climbed highest to head home a James McQuilkin free kick.
But, the lead was to last just 5 minutes as Benito Lowe levelled with a half volley which went in via Cam Belford’s left hand post after the danger wasn’t cleared following a corner.
Avro had created the first chance of the evening – a couple of minutes before Rangers’ opener but unmarked Liam Ellis saw his drive go across the face of goal.
When Barkers got caught in possession midway inside the Stafford half, it opened up another opportunity for the visitors. Lowe and Ellis combined to find Max Harrop and he fired in from 25 yards out to put Avro ahead on 34 minutes.
Rangers were still well in the contest and went close again with another Cockerline header but, in added time at the end of the first half, Avro struck for a third time.
Harrop was again the man on target and again he produced a a stunning finish – this time with a left footer from 35 yards out – but questions will be asked why he was allowed the time and space to get his shot in.
Rangers made some changes at the break with Luca Whitney replacing Joe Mwasile as well as a re-shuffle at the back but while they huffed and puffed, they never once looked like reducing the areas.
The better chances continued to fall to the opposition. Harrop hit a free kick straight to Belford while the Stafford keeper had to do a little more – but not much – to keep out a snap shot from Sam Davidson. Later, Lowe and Kyle Hawley both fired wide while Davidson saw his effort blocked.
Rangers were guilty of gifting possession to the visitors far too easily which affected their ability to mount any significant pressure on the Avro goal.
In the final 15 minutes, Rangers did create a couple of chances, the best of which was a header from Cockerline that was turned over by keeper Grant Shenton.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Cameron Belford, 2 Jacob Edwards, 3 Ben O’Hanlon, 4 Dylan Barkers, 5 Andy Burns, 6 Sean Lawton, 7 Joe Mwasile (15 Luca Whitney 46m), 8 James McQuilkin (17 Diego McGann 72m), 9 Dan Cockerline, 10 Joe Robbins (12 Joe Morley 65m), 11 Tyrone Cadeau (16 AJ Leitch-Smith 86m). Unused Sub 14 Max Barlow
Avro: 1 Grant Shenton, 2 Chiekh Thiam, 3 Kane Wallwork (12 AJ Warberton 18m), 4 Kane Hickman, 5 David Fitzpatrick, 6 Deane Smalley, 7 Liam Ellis, 8 Sam Davidson, 9 Kyle Hawley (16 Michael Phenix 73m), 10 Benito Lowe (17 Darren Ehimamiegho 81m), 11 Max Harrop (14 Craig Carney 52m). Unused Sub 18 Jake Cottrell
Cautions: Lawton, O’Hanlon, Burns (Stafford), Hickman, Lowe (Avro)
Referee: Ryan Price
Attendance: 338
Report by Chris Elsley
