Nov 28, 2023
Stafford Rangers marked the new era of Dave Cooke’s management with their first league win for 14 weeks, ending a 12 match winless run.
Cooke only took over the reins on Monday – although he had been a spectator at a number of Rangers’ recent games – and stood quietly in the Technical Area while Dale Belford continued with his familiar vocal instructions.
Rangers fielded the same starting XI that had been beaten at Ilkeston and almost gave their new boss the perfect start as Sam Bird forced a save from visiting keeper Nico Defreitas-Hansen while Ben Woods hooked a shot over the defence following the resultant corner.
Atherton responded with a shot from Enock Lusiama that was easily gathered by Cam Belford but it was Rangers who were the dominant force in the opening quarter.
Woods somehow managed to hit the post with the goal begging then missed another easy looking opportunity when his header went wide following a great first time ball from Sam Bird.
Having survived several scares, Atherton began to come more in to the game with Adam Dawson prominent in most of their approach play.
With few options on offer, Dawson tried his luck from the left hand side of the area, forcing Belford to turn the ball over for a corner then he picked out Lusiama but Belford was equal to the forward’s header.
As the visitors enjoyed what was to be their best period of the game, Andy Burns made a vital block to keep out the Atherton number 9 who saw another shot bounce wide. In between these two efforts, Belford saved another from former Stafford man Nathan Caine.
Rangers got themselves back on top but their problems in front of goal continued as both Kaiman Anderson and Ethan Stewart failed to find the target then another good drive across goal from Bird just eluded Nathan Blissett.
Just as it looked that half time would arrive with the sides on level terms, Blissett was first to a corner from Woods and Stewart pounced on the loose ball to fire Rangers ahead (45+3 mins).
It was Stewart who doubled the lead on 52 minutes with a flick on the outside of his right foot that sent the ball looping inside the far post after Bird and Blissett had combined on the right hand side.
A thumping volley from Joe Willis went inches wide as Rangers looked for a third.
At the other end, Burns was in outstanding form with blocks and clearances to ensure a clean sheet for Belford who ensured Rangers’ first win in 13 games with a parried save from Josh Solomon-Davies in the last action of the night.
Forward AJ Leitch-Smith was signed earlier in the day and came on for the last quarter of an hour. Although he didn’t quite mark his debut with a goal, he gave Rangers fans some encouraging signs.
Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 Simon Njaria, 9 Nathan Blissett, 10 Kaiman Anderson (2 AJ Leitch-Smith 73m), 11 Joe Willis, 12 Niah Payne (3 Jay Ford 90+3m), 14 Andy Burns, 15 Taylor McMahon, 16 Sam Bird (4 Ethan Morgan 85m), 17 Ben Woods. Unused Subs: 7 Braulio ‘Edy’ Maieco, 8 Tyreece Onyeka
Atherton: 1 Nico Defreitas-Hansen, 2 Josh Solomon-Davies, 3 Jack Evans, 4 Dylan Moonan (15 Jordan Scanlon 76m), 5 Jordan Fagbola, 6 Dylan Thompson, 7 Adam Dawson, 8 Sidi Fofana, 9 Enock Lusiama, 10 Harvey Gregson (12 Ben Rydel 61m), 11 Nathan Caine. Unused Sub 14 Jordan Boone – only 3 subs named
Referee: David Hinton
Cautions: McMahon (Rangers), Moonan, Fagbola (Atherton)
Att: 422
Report by Chris Elsley
Nov 18, 2023
Caretaker manager Dale Belford was unable to mark his new role with a win but saw a battling display from his Stafford Rangers side to come within a whisker of causing an upset in this FA Trophy tie.
Belford took on the role after the club parted company with Matt Hill on Thursday following a poor set of results that had yielded just two points from a possible 33.
On a greasy surface, Rangers went toe to toe with their National League North opponents and were the better of the two sides in the first half.
Brackley showed a little more about themselves after the break and it needed a could of excellent saves from Cam Belford to end the game into penalties where the visitors ultimately won through.
Brackley had the better of the opening 10 minutes with Alfie Bates managing a shot on target but it wasn’t one to trouble the Stafford keeper.
One of the reasons for Rangers’ troubles this season is a lack of goals. Shots on target have been at a minimum and it was the one feature that was once again lacking.
Kaiman Anderson fired wide after a lay off from Niah Payne well Sam Bird’s effort was deflected over for a corner off Alex Gudger.
Rangers were growing in confidence as Joe Willis fired high after a good touch to take the ball away from Gareth Dean.
Brackley went close to snatching the lead moments before half time but a combination of Ben Woods and Taylor McMahon forced a corner.
From the flag kick, Belford saved well turning Dean’s header onto the post.
The visitors looked a little sharper after the break with Dan Turner shooting just wide. The Stone born player had earlier angered the Stafford camp with what appeared to be an elbow to the face of Andy Burns which received no more punishment than a free kick.
Brackley won a couple of free kicks of their own in dangerous positions but both Layton Love and Shepherd Murombedzi saw their efforts blocked by the Stafford wall. Another shot from Turner was saved by Belford.
Belford parried a shot from Murombedzi and held on to a back header from Morgan Roberts.
In between, Rangers had a chance when the ball fell to Woods but his shot was deflected wide off Cosmos Matwasa.
Brackley put on the pressure to find a winner in the final minutes but excellent saves from Belford kept out Dominic McHale to send the tie into penalties.
Love netted the first spot kick for the visitors but Ethan Stewart dragged his wide.
Roberts and Simon Njaria both scored before a miss from Bates put matters level.
But Joe Willis was unable to take advantage as his kick was saved.
Murombedzi and Sam Bird both scored their kicks before Gudger clinched a 4-2 win for the visitors.
Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 Simon Njaria, 9 Nathan Blissett, 10 Kaiman Anderson (4 Ethan Morgan 75m), 11 Joe Willis, 12 Niah Payne (3 Aaron Braithwaite 79m), 14 Andy Burns, 15 Taylor McMahon, 16 Sam Bird, 17 Ben Woods. Unused Subs 2 James Carvell, 7 Lewis Keeling, 8 Tyreece Onyeka, 13 Jack Sandel.
Brackley: 1 Danny Lewis, 2 George Carline, 3 Riccardo Clader, 4 Shepherd Murombedzi, 5 Alex Gudger, 6 Gareth Dean, 7 Cosmas Matwasa, 8 Alfie Bates, 11 Dan Turner (14 Morgan Roberts 73m), 12 Jimmy Armson (10 Dominic McHale 81m), 21 Layton Love. Unused Subs 13 Ali Worby, 15 Tyler Lyttle, 18 Tommy O’Sullivan, 19 Zak Lilly.
Referee: Lewis Dawson
Cautions: Njaria, Dale Belford (Stafford); Bates, Armson, McHale (Brackley)
Att: 582
Report by Chris Elsley
Nov 11, 2023
Stafford Rangers’ troubles continued with a demoralising 3-0 defeat at home to Morpeth Town.
With Sam Bird suspended, there was a recall for Andy Burns and the right back was one of very few to emerge with any credit from the game.
After an uninspiring opening, Rangers began to take the upper hand. A counter attack involving Niah Payne and James Carvell threatened to open up the visitors’ defence until Michael Turner came across with a no nonsense clearance.
A Burns centre picked out Nathan Blissett who headed wide.
Morpeth did get the ball in the Stafford net after a scramble following a Liam Noble free kick but the assistant on the far side flagged that the ball had gone out of play for a corner.
Another Blissett effort lacked the ingredients needed to trouble the visiting keeper while a header from Taylor McMahon’s cross was glanced across goal.
Just as it looked like half time would arrive with the game still goal-less, Rangers found themselves behind.
A throw on the Morpeth right saw Josh Robson combine with William Jenkins. A poor touch from Jake Moult only diverted the ball into the path of Andrew Johnson who snapped up the opportunity.
Morpeth doubled their lead on the hour. Jenkins and Jack Foalle were given too much time on the visitors’ right. The latter picked out the oncoming Noble who shot past Cam Belford without a breaking stride.
Rangers’ heads visibly dropped although they might have reduced the arrears had Edy Maieco stretched to convert a shot from Joe Willis.
Instead, it was Morpeth who found the net once more. A nice touch from Jenkins set up Fenton John who fired into the roof of the net to wrap things up on 71 minutes.
It wasn’t until the final minute that Morpeth keeper Dan Lowson had to make a save as he kept out a decent effort from Aaron Braithwaite before another save denied Kaiman Anderson in added time.
But there was nothing to paper over the cracks as Rangers’ winless league run was extended to ten games.
Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Taylor McMahon, 4 Jake Moult, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 Simon Njaria (12 Aaron Braithwaite 62m), 7 Kaiman Anderson, 8 Joe Willis, 9 Nathan Blissett, 10 James Carvell (17 Tyreece Onyeka 77m), 11 Niah Payne (Edy Maieco 62m). Unused Subs: 14 Ben Woods, 16 Ethan Morgan
Morpeth Town: 1 Dan Lowson, 2 Josh Robson, 3 Chris Reid, 4 William Jenkins, 5 Jeff Henderson, 6 Michael Turner, 7 Jack Foalle, 8 Liam Noble (12 Ryan Wombwell 86m), 9 Sam Hodgson (14 Vinnie Steels 74m), 10 Fenton John, 11 Andrew Johnson (16 Daniel Barlow 80m). Unused Sub: 15 Ryan Donaldson- only 4 subs named
Referee: Richard Walker
Cautions: Njaria, Belford, Willis, Matt Hill (Stafford) Foalle (Morpeth)
Att: 578
Report by Chris Elsley
Oct 28, 2023
Stafford Rangers enjoyed a break from league action to pick up a much needed victory to see off the challenge of Quorn in their FA Trophy 1st Round tie.
There has been criticism of Rangers’ style of play from some quarters but they threw off the shackles to hit five goal in a game for the first time in 18 months.
In the end it was a comfortable victory but it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Boro who twice had to come from behind against the Leicestershire side from the Northern Premier League Midlands Division – one step below their hosts.
After Rangers had made a bright start, it was the visitors who went ahead as early as the 8th minute.
Silvio Bello was given too much time on the Quorn left after receiving the ball from Paddy Webb. His shot came down off the underside of the cross bar and Tyrell Shannon-Lewis was quickest to react and headed in from close range.
Rangers had a couple of half chances to get level but a shot from Niah Payne didn’t test Charlie Woods in the visitors’ goal while Nathan Blissett failed to get enough contact on the ball as his glanced header went wide.
But the deserved equaliser came on the half hour through a Kaiman Anderson penalty after Woods had clattered into Ethan Stewart. The referee initially awarded a goal kick before deciding to consult with his assistant.
Back on level terms, Rangers looked a more settled side and came close to taking a lead into the break but Woods smothered the ball as Jake Moult battled his way into the danger area while James Carvell’s free kick deflected over off the Quorn wall with the last kick of the half.
Quorn restored their lead five minutes after the restart. A long pass from Bello put Webb in and, despite the close attentions of Stewart and Moult, he managed to create a yard of space and slammed the ball into the roof of the Stafford net.
Rangers struck back quickly with a classical striker’s goal as Blissett rose high to head in Sam Bird’s cross on 54 minutes.
Four minutes later Rangers went ahead for the first time in the game with James Carvell firing home after linking well with Payne.
Webb fired over for the visitors but Rangers were now in the ascendency and Simon Njaria made it 4-2 on 63 minutes with a left foot volley from Cavell’s corner.
Bird was in the thick of the action at both ends of the pitch as he almost bundled the ball in to his own net then launched a long throw that Quorn keeper Woods spilled on to the post.
Man of the match Njaria all but secured the win in the 75th minute when he pounced on a loose ball in the Quorn area. His first touch took it past former Port Vale man Chris Robertson and, with his second, he fired past Woods.
Webb reduced the arrears deep in to added time after taking the ball around Cameron Belford but there were no alarms as Rangers progressed to the 2nd round.
Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Sam Bird, 3 Taylor McMahan, 4 Jake Moult, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 Simon Njaria, 7 Kaiman Anderson, 8 Joe Willis, 9 Nathan Blissett (17 Keke Jeffers 85m), 10 James Carvell (12 Aaron Braithwaite 74m), 11 Niah Payne (18 Lewis Keeling 90+4m). Unused Subs: 13 Jack Sandel, 14 Ben Woods, 15 Andy Burns, 16 Ethan Morgan
Quorn: 1 Charlie Woods, 2 Charlie Marzano, 3 Silvio Bello, 4 Kyle Bryant, 19 Chris Robertson, 15 Pat Zito, 7 Jack Samples (14 Josh Steele 87m), 8 Tom Hilton, 9 Paddy Webb, 10 Courey Grantham, 11 Tyrell Shannon-Lewis (16 Billy Kee 63m). Unused sub: 12 Ant Carney – only 3 subs named.
Referee: Joe Cunningham
Cautions: Moult, Willis (Rangers) Woods (Quorn)
Att: 507
Report by Chris Elsley
Oct 21, 2023
Stafford Rangers earned themselves a point in their fight to get away from the bottom four but results elsewhere saw them drop a place to 20th in the table.
The pitch at the Stan Robinson Stadium was in remarkably good condition considering the amount of rain that had fallen in the previous 48 hours.
With no win in 8 going into this clash, Matt Hill made further changes to the starting line up with Braulio “Edy” Maieco and James Carvell making their debut’s while Taylor McMahon continued at left back having had his first start in the defeat at Guiseley a week earlier.
It was a more positive display from the home side with Maieco showing his skills on the right hand side while Niah Payne testing the fight back on the opposite wing.
The visitors were first to show and Louis Holt should have done better from a clipped Harry Benns centre but his header looped up and over the Stafford cross bar.
Rangers got a look in a couple of minutes later as Maieco took advantage of an error from Brig defender Danny Forbes to play in Carvell but his shot was gathered comfortably by James Pradic.
At the other end, Can Belford parried away a shot from ex Rangers Jack Baxter after Holt had combined with Chris Churchman.
Maieco looked the most likely source of a breakthrough for Stafford as he saw his square ball just elude both Kaiman Anderson and Payne then his free kick swung just wide of the target.
But it was the visitors who grabbed the lead in the 27th minute. Holt did well to chest down a long ball from Olatunde Bayode. Baxter pounced on the loose ball and worked his way past a couple of Stafford defenders before poking it past Belford.
Soon after, another ex Ranger, Harry Benns, also found an easy route to goal but shot wide from just outside the Stafford area.
Rangers got themselves back level on 37 minutes when Anderson squeezed the ball past Pradic following Carvell’s free kick and the two sides went in to the break all square after Benns had sliced badly wide for the visitors.
Brig threatened early in the second half with Baxter forcing a good save from Belford after an initial shot from Harry Scarborough had been blocked. Rangers’ response came from a Payne header which Pradic held with an elaborate dive to his right.
Simon Njaria produced a battling man of the match performance in the Stafford midfield – epitomised by creating a chance for Maieco one minute then blocking a shot from Baxter the next.
Rangers replaced Carvell with the improving Jay Ford but the substitute’s game time was restricted to just three minutes as he picked up a knee injury making a tackle.
Despite this set back, Rangers finished the stronger of the two sides with Maeico trying his luck from the edge of the area before Pradic flicked away a dangerous cross from Anderson.
A free kick from Maeico went just off target as did a late header from Nathan Blissett as Rangers had to settle for a share of the spoils.
Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Sam Bird, 3 Taylor McMahan, 4 Jake Moult, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 Simon Njaria, 7 Edy Maieco, 8 Joe Willis, 9 Kaiman Anderson (12 Nathan Blissett 89m), 10 James Carvell (14 Jay Ford 73m (16 Keke Jeffers 79m)), 11 Niah Payne. Unused Subs: 15 Andy Burns, 17 Aaron Braithwaite
Bamber Bridge: 1 James Pradic, 2 Zak Dempster-Down (14 Danny Edwards 66m), 3 Olatunde Bayode, 4 Danny Forbes, 5 Macauley Wilson, 6 Michael Potts, 7 Harry Scarborough, 8 Jack Baxter, 9 Louis Holt (16 Sam Billington 77m), 10 Chris Churchman, 11 Harry Benns (12 Mark Cullen 83m). Unused Subs 15 Sky Sinclair, 17 Mackenzie O’Neill
Referee: Luke Bowles
Cautions: Bird (Rangers), Pradic, Bayode, Wilson, Potts, Holt (Bamber Bridge)
Att: 514
Report by Chris Elsley
