Jan 7, 2023
A disastrous 18 minute spell in the second half saw Stafford Rangers throw away a 3-0 lead to lose an incident packed match at home to Gainsborough Trinity.
Rangers had taken a single goal lead into half time thanks to a Tom Tonks penalty then saw goals from Luis Morrison-Derbyshire and Kaiman Anderson put them seemingly in control. But, the margin of the lead was a little flattering and Gainsborough’s response showed that they agreed.
Stafford manager Matt Hill got the initial response that he had been looking for after an abject display at Belper as his side showed a more competitive edge to their game.
He made just one change to the starting XI with Alex-Ray Harvey returning in place of Jack Baxter who missed out for the first time this season.
Both sides created early chances with Gainsborough’s Liam Waldock halted by Morrison-Derbyshire after breaking into the area then, at the other end, Callum Saunders sliced well wide from 20 yards after a slip by George Hornshaw had given him a yard of space.
A couple of minutes later Saunders went closer with a hooked shot from inside the area.
A long ball from Jimmy O’Neill almost put Anderson in. The forward got ahead of Dylan Cogill but Matt Yates had advanced off his line and was close enough to grab hold of Anderson’s lob.
Harvey was the next to try his luck after clipping the ball past Waldock but his 35 yarder cleared the cross bar.
Anderson headed wide and had a penalty claim turned down when he appeared to be caught by Hornshaw. Referee Jake Allsopp saw it differently and cautioned the Stafford forward.
Gainsborough always looked a threat but good defensive play from the home side saw them fail to test Cam Belford.
Instead, it was Rangers who got their noses in front on 45 minutes when Isaac Rice tripped Joe Willis and Tonks dispatched the resulting spot kick.
Gainsborough made a positive start to the second half with Belford forced to come out of his area to clear from Curtis Durose, but Rangers stunned the visitors with two goals in three minutes.
Morrison-Derbyshire doubled the lead on 52 minutes when he headed in from close range after O’Neill and Anderson had contributed to Tonks’ throw into the danger area.
It should have been game over two minutes later when Anderson turned in a square ball from Saunders after the initial ball from Tonks.
But Gainsborough were far from finished. They had a strong penalty claim dismissed after Tonks had challenged Waldock in the area.
Gainsborough manager Neil Bishop went too far with his protestations and, on 62 minutes, he was sent from the dug out for saying something out of turn to the referee’s assistant. To make matters worse for the visitors, Bishop was one of his side’s named substitutes.
Gainsborough’s fight back began just four minutes later. Rangers failed to clear their lines after a free kick and Hornshaw reduced the arrears with a well struck drive from just outside the area.
The deficit was down to one goal on 72 minutes. Once again Rangers failed to clear – this time after a poor corner – Fraser Preston sent in a deep centre which was met by the unchallenged Hayden Cann at the back post.
Rangers were rocking and Gainsborough drew level on 78 minutes when Jay Glover found Waldock in space.
The seemingly inevitable fourth came on 83 minutes. Hornshaw was allowed to get in a cross from the Gainsborough right for Clayton Donaldson to head home.
It could have been worse for Rangers but Belford saved from both Waldock and Preston in the final stages. By this time, many of the home fans among the 805 gate were already on their way home.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Akeem HInds, 4 Alex-Ray Harvey, 5 Luis Morrison-Derbyshire, 6 Jimmy O’Neill, 7 Alex Kiwomya (15 Joe Kenton 79m), 8 Tom Tonks, 9 Kaiman Anderson, 10 Callum Saunders, 11 Joe Willis. Unused subs 12 Ethan Stewart, 14 Joe Dunne, 16 Jack Baxter, 17 Darius Smith
Gainsborough Trinity: 1 Matt Yates, 2 George Hornshaw, 3 Joe West, 4 Bailey Conway (12 Andrew Wright 53m – 16 Prosper Keto 88m), 5 Hayden Cann, 6 Dylan Cogill, 7 Curtis Durose, 8 Isaac Rice (15 Jay Glover 53m), 9 Clayton Donaldson, 10 Liam Waldock, 11 Fraser Preston. Unused Subs 13 Ethan Cowan, 17 Neil Bishop
Referee: Jake Allsopp
Cautions: Anderson (Stafford) Conway, Cann, Durose, Preston, Glover (Gainsborough)
Sent Off: Bishop (Gainsborough)
Att: 805
Report by Chris Elsley
Dec 26, 2022
Stafford Rangers enjoyed an excellent 3-0 win over in form Nantwich Town in front of an excellent Boxing Day crowd of 1,222.
Rangers named new signings Akeem Hinds and Callum Saunders in their starting line up with Joe Dunne dropping to the bench as he missed his first league game of the season.
Rangers made the early running and came close to an 8th minute opener when Alex Kiwomya outwitted Perry Bircumshaw on the right but Kaiman Anderson’s back healed flick went just the wrong side of the far post.
Two minutes later, Jack Baxter set up Joe Willis but his 30 yarder was well saved by visiting keeper Thomas Booth who went full stretch to his right to tip away for a corner.
Kiwomya was giving Bircumshaw plenty of problems on the Rangers’ right but it was his free kick from the left wing that saw Jimmy O’Neill head the home side in front on 17 minutes.
Nantwich nearly replied within a minute as Luis Morrison-Derbyshire only half cleared Bircumshaw’s throw allowing Thomas Scully to get in a 20 yard drive that Callum Belford failed to hold. Fortunately, for the Rangers’ keeper, the ball bounced away from goal and the danger averted.
Booth made another finger tip save to prevent Saunders from scoring against his former club before Baxter shot low at the Dabbers’ keeper.
Rangers were on top at this stage but the occasional lapse kept Nantwich interested and the unmarked Dan Cockerline should have done better when he put his header a couple of yards wide.
Nantwich’s plans were disrupted when Curtis Morrison was forced out of the game with an injury just before half time but they didn’t let it affect them and enjoyed a good five minute spell but Byron Henderson’s scuffed shot failed to test Belford while it needed a timely intervention from Morrison-Derbyshire to keep out Cockerline. The final action of the half saw James Caton’s shot deflected wide.
Nantwich were hit by another injury early in the second half as captain Matt Bell limped off and Rangers added further woe to their afternoon when Kaiman Anderson doubled the lead on 52 minutes.
Anderson benefited as Baxter’s shot struck Harry Nevin and fell kindly into the path of the Rangers’ striker.
After Saunders had failed to take a chance to make it 3-0, Rangers survived a scare at the other end as Morrison-Derbyshire was caught out by Nevin’s long ball leaving Cockerline through on goal but Rangers were saved when his lob over Belford bounced back off the post.
It was a day when Lady Luck was in no mood to give Nantwich any joy. Instead, keeper Booth handed out a late Christmas present when he scuffed a pass out to Nevin and gave Anderson the simplest of tap ins on 61 minutes.
The goal prompted Nantwich’s third substitution of the afternoon as Levi Chiduka replaced Harrison. Meanwhile, the tiring Saunders kept searching for his debut goal but his was out of luck as Bircumshaw blocked another effort from the former Ashton United man.
With victory looking more assured, Rangers made a double substitution with a little over 10 minutes remaining. At the same time, Nantwich were paying the price of having used all three replacements as Cockerline went off with a shoulder injury and the visitors had to play out with just 10 men.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Nantwich had a chance to reduce the arrears but Bircumshaw could only find the side netting from a good position on the left hand side of the area and Rangers were left to celebrate their biggest win of the season.
Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Akeem HInds, 4 Jack Baxter, 5 Luis Morrison-Derbyshire, 6 Jimmy O’Neill, 7 Alex Kiwomya (15 Joe Kenton 79m), 8 Tom Tonks, 9 Kaiman Anderson (16 Jaiden White 79m), 10 Callum Saunders (12 Ethan Stewart 90m), 11 Joe Willis. Unused subs 14 Joe Dunne, 17 Alex-Ray Harvey
Nantwich Town: 1 Thomas Booth, 2 Herry Nevin, 3 Perry Bircumshaw, 4 Troy Bourne, 5 Jon Moran, 6 Curtis Morrison (17 Mwiya Malumo 39m), 7 James Caton, 8 Matt Bell (12 Caspar Hughes 47m), 9 Dan Cockerline, 10 Thomas Scully, 11 Byron Harrison (15 Levi Chiduka 62m). Unused Subs 14 Jack Sherratt, 16 Sean Lawton
Referee: Harry Warner
Cautions: None
Att : 1,222
Report by Chris Elsley
Dec 6, 2022
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
Dec 3, 2022
It was a disappointing afternoon for Stafford Rangers who failed to build on last week’s victory over FC United by going down 2-1 at home to Atherton Collieries.
Rangers, who welcomed back striker Kaiman Anderson after a five match absence through injury, made the perfect start when they went ahead after just one minute.
Jack Baxter exchanged a short corner with Alex Kiwomya and sent in an inswinging cross that found its way past visiting keeper Nico DeFreitas-Hansen. Stafford defender Luis Morrison-Derbyshire claimed the goal but video replays showed that the ball had glanced off the head of Atherton’s Danny Lafferty.
But, as Rangers had scored with their first opportunity, Atherton levelled the scores with theirs, on 14 minutes.
Morrison-Derbyshire fouled Scott Bakkor on the Stafford left touchline and, from Jay Fitzmartin’s free kick, Adam Rooney rose highest at the back post to head home.
It was the opening that Atherton needed and Gareth Peet had a shot blocked by Andy Burns then, in the same attack, Arran Pettifer sent his effort high over.
A couple of minutes later, Bakkor charged down a clearance from Cam Belford but the Stafford keeper managed to regain possession despite protests from the visitors that he was outside the area.
At this stage, it was a fairly even contest. Rangers, had been wasteful with a couple of earlier free kicks in good positions, finally got one past the wall only for the secondary line of defence – Peet’s outstretched leg – to make the block.
Anderson almost marked his return with a goal when he pounced upon hesitation between Lafferty and Rooney but he could keep the ball down.
In between these two efforts, at the other end of the field, Bakkor tried his luck from distance but failed to test Belford who collected comfortably.
A poor finish from Joe Kenton saw another opportunity go begging for Stafford while the half came to a close with a shot from Marcus Cusani which Belford parried before taking control in both hands.
Belford was called upon again early in the second half as he made a smart save to push away Bakkor’s 25 yard free kick but it was the former Stalybridge man who grabbed what proved to be the winner on 56 minutes.
Clive Smith launched a deep throw from the right which was only partially cleared and Bakkor hooked his volley into the roof of the net from a couple of yards inside the area.
Rangers made a couple of substitutions with Joe Dunne and Kenton being replaced by Joe Willis and Jaiden White but Atherton were now in control of the game and managed their lead well, using every opportunity to take time out.
Jimmy O’Neill got a brief run out – his first since returning to Stafford – as a last hope striker. A couple of half chances fell his way but both went unconverted.
Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Joe Dunne (16 Joe Willis 62m), 4 Jack Baxter (15 James O’Neill 89m), 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 Luis Morrison-Derbyshire, 7 Alex Kiwomya, 8 Tom Tonks, 9 Kaiman Anderson, 10 Alex-Ray Harvey, 11 Joe Kenton (12 Jaiden White 65m). Unused subs 14 Ethan Morgan, 17 Darius Smith
Atherton Collieries: 1 Nico DeFreitas-Hansen, 2 Clive Smith, 3 Gareth Peet (15 Bailey Thompson 86m), 4 Joel Amado, 5 Danny Lafferty, 6 Adam Rooney, 7 Arran Pettifer (14 Aaran Smith 69m), 8 Jack Lenehan, 9 Scott Bakkor, 10 Jay Fitzmartin (12 Ethan Kershaw 69m), 11 Marcus Casani. Only 3 subs named
Referee: Daniel Patterson
Cautions: Kiwomya (Stafford) Lafferty, Rooney, Lenehan, Bakkor, Cusani (Atherton)
Att : 676
Report by Chris Elsley
Nov 26, 2022
A first half goal from Alex Kiwomya was enough to give Stafford Rangers victory over FC United of Manchester in an entertaining game played in front of the biggest Marston Road crowd for six years.
It was very much against the run of play when Kiwomya snapped up his chance in the 36th minute, after visiting keeper could only parry Ethan Morgan’s initial effort, but at the end of the 90 minutes, Rangers were deserving of their victory.
The Boro were unchanged from the side that was started at South Shields last week. Ntumba Massanka returned to the substitute’s bench after being unavailable against Shields. He was joined there by Jimmy O’Neill who has returned to the club after a spell with Stratford Town.
With the benefit of a strong wind, FC United made the early running and created a couple of half chances inside the opening two minutes – Tom Tonks got in the way of a shot from Regan Linney before Callum Gribbin put his free kick high over the cross bar.
Jack Baxter missed the target by some distance with Stafford’s first shot on goal and it was the visitors continued to look the most threatening. Linney got in behind Cameron Belford following a long ball from Michael Potts but Ethan Stewart had tracked back and was able to clear the danger.
A fortunate ricochet off Stewart put Connor Stanley in but this time it was Belford who saved his side, blocking the shot with his legs. Soon after, Belford saved again following another long ball – this time the Rangers’ keeper denied Linney.
Rangers were struggling to clear their lines as FC United kept pressing. Defensive clearances were barely reaching the half way line and the home side soon found themselves under attack once more.
But, it was from another United attack that Rangers struck. Baxter dispossessed Linney just outside the Stafford area, allowing Alex-Ray Harvey to send Morgan away on the left. The Port Vale loanee advanced on goal and, although he was denied by Lavercombe’s left hand, Kiwomya had joined the attack and was on hand to score.
Gribbin missed a chance to level the scores a couple of minutes later when he was unable to convert a ball in to the danger area from Michael Donohue while Belford ensured Rangers would take their lead into the half time break when he kept out another shot from Linney.
Rangers had been second best in the first half but it was role reversal after the turn around as they looked more forceful with Baxter prominent in midfield.
Soon after the restart, Baxter intercepted a pass to give Morgan an opportunity for another run on the United goal but the youngster could only find the side netting. Minutes later, Baxter fired over from the edge of the area. Luis Morrison-Derbyshire was another Boro player who failed to hit the target when given the opportunity.
But with just the one goal margin, United remained in the hunt and Belford again kept his side in front, saving at his near post from Linney after the forward had linked with Donohue.
The same two United players linked again with Linney putting the ball into the danger area where Belford bravely went down at the feet of Dontai Gabidon.
The United substitute should have done better with another chance that came his way five minutes from time, thanks to Finlay Armstrong’s ball in from the left, but he could only put his effort over the bar and Rangers were able to celebrate a victory that keeps them within touching distance of the top of the table in what is promising to be the most exciting NPL season for some time with just 6 points separating the top 10 sides.
Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Joe Dunne, 4 Jack Baxter, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 Luis Morrison-Derbyshire, 7 Alex Kiwomya (16 Ntumba Massanka 70m), 8 Tom Tonks (15 Joe Willis 89m), 9 Ethan Morgan, 10 Alex-Ray Harvey, 11 Joe Kenton. Unused subs 12 Jaiden White, 14 James O’Neill,, 17 Darius Smith
FC United: 1 Dan Lavercombe, 2 Alex Wollerton, 3 Finlay Armstrong, 4 Jan Palinkas (12 Paul Ennis 62m), 5 Andy Halls, 6 Curtis Jone, 7 Callum Gribbin (15 Joseph Rodwell-Grant 82m), 8 Michael Potts (16 Dontai Gabidon 72m), 9 Regan Linney, 10 Connor Stanley, 11 Michael Donohue. Unused Subs 14 Luke Griffiths, 17 Jack Degruchy
Referee: Richard Walker
Cautions: Jones, Potts (FC United)
Att : 1349
Report by Chris Elsley
