Nov 12, 2022
It was an afternoon to forget for Stafford Rangers who were thumped 3-0 at home by Stalybridge Celtic.
The visitors arrived as a bottom four side but left having hauled themselves out of the relegation zone, thanks to a double strike from Raul Carreia after former Stafford striker Nathan Caine had given them an early lead.
Caine, who didn’t get much of a look in during a two month spell for the Boro at the start of this campaign, was one of four former Stafford players in the Stalybridge squad with substitutes Theo Bailey-Jones, Harry Benns and Osebi Abadaki also making an appearance on their old turf.
Rangers showed a change with Andy Burns only making the bench after the injury that forced him off early during last week’s victory at Lancaster. Ethan Stewart made a return to the matchday sixteen after injury but was also an unused substitute.
Stalybridge looked the livelier side in the first exchanges but Rangers responded with a series of Tom Tonks throws that put the defence under pressure.
Having withstood the threat from Tonks, Stalybridge took the lead in the 9th minute via a tap in from Caine.
The finish was simple enough but visitors had done well in the build up with Chris Dagnall and Carreia involved on the left hand side before Dagnall picked out Caine for the finish.
Derek Ubah had half a chance to level when he flicked the ball over from Jack Baxter’s pass while Tonks was someway off the mark with a 25 yard free kick shortly after.
Tonks also sent a header over following an inswinging free kick from Baxter while Ubah couldn’t find enough of a connection to worry Stalybridge following a Tonks free kick from the left.
Joe Dunne shot straight at Greg Hall who then pulled off an excellent save to tip over an Ubah header.
Next it was the turn of Ntumba Massanka to fail in front of goal when he drove across goal and inches wide of the far post.
It was Rangers’ best period of the afternoon but their failure to convert this into goals was to prove costly as Stalybridge doubled their lead on 36 minutes.
Carreia combined with Caine midway inside the Stafford half. Caine’s return pass sent the Stalybridge number 9 clear and he made no mistake.
It could have been even more miserable for Rangers as Caine had a chance to make it 3-0 just before the break but Cam Belford ensured his side still had a glimmer of hope as they went in to half time.
But the glimmer soon faded as Rangers didn’t give their supporters much to cheer about after the turn around. A volley from Baxter and a shot straight at Hall from Tonks were about all they could muster up to the hour mark.
From then on, it was Stalybridge who looked most likely to add to the scoring, although a free kick wide of the target from Matthew Carson was the best they could muster. That was until Luis Morrison-Derbyshire needlessly tripped Carreia in the area and the Stalybridge man slotted home the penalty in the 87th minute to round off a miserable afternoon for Rangers.
Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Darius Smith (16 Ethan Morgan 66m), 3 Joe Dunne, 4 Jack Baxter, 5 Derek Ubah, 6 Luis Morrison-Derbyshire, 7 Alex Kiwomya, 8 Tom Tonks, 9 Ntumba Massanka, 10 Alex-Ray Harvey, 11 Jaiden White (12 Joe Kenton 72m). Unused subs 14 Ethan Stewart, 15 Andy Burns, 17 John Atherton
Stalybridge: 1 Greg Hall, 2 Tom Miller, 3 Matthew Carson, 4 Kyle Harrison, 5 Dharius Waldron, 6 Domaine Rouse, 7 Raheem Hanley (12 Osebi Abadaki 62m), 8 Godwin Abadaki (14 Theo Bailey-Jones 61m), 9 Raul Carreia, 10 Chris Dagnall, 11 Nathan Caine (15 Harry Benns 72m). Unused Subs 16 Ethan Padden, 17 Dillan Moonan
Referee: Ashley Clarke
Cautions: Ubah, Harvey (Rangers) Carson, Rouse, Hanley, Bailey-Jones (Stalybridge)
Att : 693
Report by Chris Elsley
Oct 25, 2022
A late strike from Jack Baxter earned Stafford Rangers a point from a game that looked to be going the way of visitors Hyde United.
Manager Matt Hill kept faith with the same XI that had started Saturday’s drawn game against Guiseley and he saw his side go on an early attack which culminated with Tom Tonks getting in a shot on goal but it was no threat to Dan Atherton.
Another Rangers attack broke down when Derek Ubah’s pass hit the heels of team-mate Ethan Stewart. Hyde took advantage to launch a counter attack with Tom Pratt launching a long cross field ball to Joe McGlynn who was only denied a shot by a timely intervention from Andy Burns. With the visitors still in the Stafford half, Pratt tried his luck from the edge of the area but sent his shot over the Stafford bar.
Tonks intercepted a poor clearance and, spotting keeper Atherton out of position, sent in a shot from midway inside the Hyde half but it drifted just wide.
Stafford continued to look for an opener and enjoyed a good spell when a corner was glanced over by Stewart then Tonks forced Atherton into a fine save when he clipped a shot towards the top right corner.
But, after almost going ahead, Rangers found themselves behind in the 24th minute. An error from Joe Dunne allowed the ball to reach Pratt and he broke away to beat Cam Belford with an excellent strike.
Manasse Mampala went close to adding a second with a shot across goal while Liam Tongue fired wide from Pratt’s lay off.
Rangers’ best effort to get back level before the interval came from the boot of Baxter who shot just over the top corner of the goal.
Hyde skipper Bradley Roscoe was denied twice in the space of a minute – firstly by Andy Burns’ excellent block then a spectacular goal-line clearance from Stewart.
At the opposite end, Rangers’ had a setback when hardworking forward, Kaiman Anderson, limped off with a hamstring injury.
They did have chances, notably when Stewart headed over following a free kick from Baxter. It was Baxter who earned his side a point in the 82nd minute with a shot from the edge of the area that glanced off a Hyde defender before nestling in the corner of the net.
Hyde were not prepared to settle for a point and came close to restoring their lead when McGlynn forced a good save from Belford with a near post flick following Tongue’s corner.
Rangers also sensed a winner and Baxter could have grabbed it when he cleverly robbed Harry Ditchfield but, having done the hard work, he fired wide.
It would have been harsh on Hyde had Baxter found the net. For Rangers, it was their third consecutive 1-1 draw as the NPL continues to demonstrate that it will be one of the closest fought contests for many a year with just seven points separating the top 16 teams in the table.
Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Joe Dunne, 4 Jack Baxter, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 Derek Ubah, 7 Alex Kiwomya (16 Jaiden White 46m), 8 Tom Tonks (12 Darius Smith 90+4m), 9 Kaiman Anderson (14 Joe Willis 64m), 10 Alex-Ray Harvey, 11 Joe Kenton. Unused Subs 13 Jack Sandel, 15 Luis Morrison-Derbyshire
Hyde United: 1 Dan Atherton, 2 Harry Ditchfield, 3 Javid Neavin, 4 Aaron Fleming, 5 Jordan Fagbola, 6 Bradley Roscoe, 7 Manasse Mampala, 8 Sonny Whittingham, 9 Joe McGlynn (15 Eddie Brown 90m), 10 Liam Tongue, 11 Tom Pratt. Unused Subs: 12 Josh Askew, 14 Jack Redshaw, 16 Edy Maieco, 17 Adam Dawson
Referee: James Lunn
Cautions: Stewart (Rangers), Pratt (Hyde)
Att 567
Report by Chris Elsley
Oct 22, 2022
A 76th minute penalty from Tom Tonks earned Stafford Rangers a share of the spoils against an impressive Guiseley.
The visitors were not happy with the decision of referee Ben Robinson but could really have few complaints having benefited from an equally contentious decision which had given them a first half lead.
Joe Kenton, who missed the midweek draw at Ashton United due to injury, was back in the starting line up in place of the suspended Ntumba Massanka while U18’s keeper Jack Sandel was named among the substitutes for the first time.
After a quiet opening, the game sprung to life in the 10th minute when Mohammad Qasim rattled the Rangers’ cross bar with a shot from nowhere. Keeper Cam Belford could only stand and watch as the 25 yard thunderbolt bounced down and was cleared away.
The visitors appeared to pose the greater threat without giving Belford any further concerns but were then gifted a free shot on goal when Robinson penalised Derek Ubah after the ball bounced up on to his hand while trying to deal with a corner. Callum Chippendale struck home the spot kick to give Guiseley a 29th minute lead.
The game was played out in between the two penalty areas with neither side doing much to suggest any further addition to the score in the opening 45 minutes as the defences dominated.
Rangers managed just one shot on target but Jack Baxter’s effort was an easy gather for Kyle Trennery.
At the opposite end, it needed the combined efforts of Ethan Stewart and Andy Burns to deal with a dangerous cross from Jake Cassidy while Joe Ackroyd could only put a free kick straight at Belford.
Guiseley had half an opening in the early stages of the second half when Kwame Boateng sent Cassidy away when he cut out a Joe Dunne throw. The Guiseley captain played a square ball into the area where Ubah stuck out a long leg to cut out the immediate threat. Ackroyd followed up but his shot was blocked by a Stafford defender.
A minute later, Baxter did well to get into a good position but wasted the opportunity with a sliced shot that swung wide and high over the Social Club roof.
Guiseley introduced Luke Dean for the injured Chippendale and the substitute was immediately in the action with a long ball to Qasim and it took an excellent intervention from Stewart to deny him a shot on goal.
The best chances continued to fall to the Guiseley number 7 as he hooked a shot at Belford from Nicky Walker’s cross.
Rangers made their own swap with Jaiden White replacing Kenton and it was a foul on the attacking midfielder that ultimately led to the Stafford equaliser.
Baxter’s free kick was won by the head of Ubah and referee Robinson saw the ball bounce on to the hand of Guiseley player manager Danny Ellis. Tonks sent Trenerry the wrong way with his spot kick to level the scores.
Although Rangers looked at their most dangerous in the final 15 minutes as they chased the win, the two best chances fell to the visitors and that man Qasim.
His first came on 80 minutes when he picked up on a mistake at the back from Stewart only for Belford to keep Stafford in the game with a good save. Then, in a dramatic counter attack, he skied over after being put clear by Adam Haw. Seconds earlier, Stafford had seen shots by Baxter and Burns blocked by a packed Guiseley defence.
The draw saw Stafford drop another place to 9th in the table but the league is so tight that just 7 points separate the top 15 sides.
Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Joe Dunne, 4 Jack Baxter, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 Derek Ubah, 7 Alex Kiwomya (14 Joe Willis 86m), 8 Tom Tonks, 9 Kaiman Anderson, 10 Alex-Ray Harvey, 11 Joe Kenton (16 Jaiden White 72m). Unused Subs 12 Darius Smith, 13 Jack Sandel, 15 Luis Morrison-Derbyshire
Guiseley: 1 Kyle Trennery, 2 Kwame Boateng, 3 Jameel Ible, 4 Ross Daly, 5 Danny Ellis, 6 Lebrun Mbeka, 7 Mohammad Qasim (15 Donald Chimalilo 86m), 8 Callum Chippendale (14 Luke Dean 58m), 9 Jake Cassidy, 10 Joe Ackroyd (12 Adam Haw 67m), 11 Nicky Walker. Unused Subs: 16 George Smith, 17 Ethan Vaughan
Referee: Ben Robinson
Cautions: Tonks (Rangers); Daly, Ellis, Mbeka, Ackroyd (Guiseley)
Att: 704
Report by Chris Elsley
Oct 1, 2022
Stafford Rangers returned to the top of the table with victory over Liversedge.
It was a relatively comfortable three points against the struggling Yorkshire side who were promoted to the Premier Division after winning the East Division last season.
Rangers fielded new signing Derek Ubah – who has joined the club from Belper – to replace the suspended Luis Morrison-Derbyshire at the centre of defence. Two other changes from the midweek draw at Warrington Rylands saw Jaiden White starting along with a first appearance of the season from Alex-Ray Harvey who has now recovered from a broken bone in his foot.
Kaiman Anderson had an early shot on goal after being put through by Tom Tonks but couldn’t manage to beat Jordan Porter.
Anderson caused the visiting defence further problems after a low centre from Joe Dunne. The Rangers’ forward appeared to be tripped as he turned a visiting defender but referee Daniel Stokes showed no interest in Rangers’ penalty appeals.
Tonks got the ball in the net on 14 minutes but it was direct from one of his long range throws and the ‘goal’ was ruled out.
Despite playing into a strong wind, it was Rangers who continued to ask most of the questions. Jack Baxter played Tonks in but Kurt Harris’ intervention saw the ball rebound off Tonks and harmlessly through to Porter.
Porter kept out another effort from Anderson – saving with one hand before being first to react to the loose ball.
Porter continued to frustrate Rangers as he saved from Alex Kiwomya, Tonks and Anderson in the closing stages of the first half as the two sides went in at the break on level terms.
Rangers finally got the lead that they deserved three minutes after the resumption. Tonks launched another long throw into the Liversedge six yard box. It appeared to take a glance off a visiting defender but Anderson was given the credit to record his third goal in three games.
Baxter’s tidy footwork put him in a position to double the lead but he could only find the hands of Porter while the visiting keeper escaped when he dropped another Tonks throw but neither Ubah nor Stewart to punish him.
Liversdege had barely threatened but came close just before the hour with a dangerous ball from Ben Atkinson and it needed a solid block tackle from Andy Burns to prevent Joseph Walton from scoring before Belford dived over the two players to grab the loose ball.
Rangers gave themselves some breathing space when Tonks doubled the lead on 68 minutes. White played a major part as his determination saw him outwit Jack Hardacre to keep the ball in play then he laid the ball off to the incoming Tonks.
The lead was never really under threat from then on with Rangers comfortably dealing with anything that Liversedge had to offer.
The nearest the visitors came to getting on the scoresheet was five minutes from time when Casey Stewart created some space but Belford saved at the second attempt.
Stafford: 1 Cam Belford, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Joe Dunne, 4 Jack Baxter, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 Derek Ubah, 7 Jaiden White (17 Harry Nevin 90m), 8 Tom Tonks, 9 Kaiman Anderson (16 Ntumba Massanka 90+3m), 10 Alex-Ray Harvey, 11 Alex Kiwomya (15 Joe Kenton 87m). Unused Subs 12 Nathan Caine, 14 Joe Willis
Liversedge: 1 Jordan Porter, 2 Alfie Raw, 3 Jack Hardacre, 4 Jack Stockdill, 5 Kurt Harris, 6 Jack Steers, 7 Zac Dearnley (12 Nathan Cartman 55m), 8 James Hurtley, 9 Joseph Walton (14 George Proctor 87m), 10 Benjamin Atkinson, 11 Oliver Greaves (16 Casey Stewart 73m). Unused Subs 15 Paul Walker, 17 Shiraz Khan
Referee: Daniel Stokes
Cautions: Hardacre, Stockdill (Liversedge)
Att: 698
Report by Chris Elsley
Sep 17, 2022
A first win in five outings saw Stafford Rangers jump back up to second place in the table as they took advantage of a reduced fixture list with a number of clubs featuring in the 2nd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup.
Visitors Radcliffe came to Stafford in third place and boasting an unbeaten away record but a solid display from the home side put an end to that.
Rangers were unchanged from the side that drew with Warrington in midweek and were first to show on a sunny afternoon as Tom Tonks whipped in a cross that bounced off Radcliffe keeper Thomas Stewart but the angle proved too tight for Ethan Stewart who could only direct his header on to the top of the cross bar.
Radcliffe were allowed plenty of possession but most of it was in their own half and they failed to do much with it in attack as Stafford kept their discipline and shape.
Jem Karacan did manage to get in a shot but any danger to the Stafford goal was ended as the ball struck team mate Jake Thompson who was standing in an offside position.
The best chances fell to Stafford. Kaiman Anderson could have done better when he got on the end of a Tonks throw but could only make a glancing contact with his head.
Jack Baxter continued the good form that won him the Man of the Match award in mid-week. He intercepted a pass from Radcliffe’s Gareth Evans and advanced on goal before shooting just over the intersection of bar and post.
The all important goal came just three minutes before the break. Baxter was involved with the pass into the channel which picked out Adam Livingstone. Defender Jack Evans was committed as the Stafford wide man cut inside then fired in a shot which took a deflection off a visiting defender before finding its way past Stewart.
Livingstone had a chance to add to the score early in the second half but sent his effort high over.
Radcliffe changed shape and began to create a few more openings and Harry Nevin had to be alert to clear one dangerous ball in to the 6 yard box.
But Stafford also kept pressing and Ethan Stewart went close with a header that went just over.
Luca Navarro headed wide for the visitors while another solid piece of defensive work from Joe Dunne halted Thompson’s advance in a Radcliffe counter attack.
Radcliffe’s best effort came from the boot of Jem Karacan who rattled the Stafford cross bar with a fierce shot that Cam Belford may have got the slightest of touches to.
With five minutes remaining, Navarro skewed a shot wide while under pressure from Dunne and with it went Radcliffe’s hopes.
It was Rangers who came closest to adding to the score in the closing moments when Tom Stewart tipped over a decent strike from Kaiman Anderson.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Cameron Belford, 2 Harry Nevin, 3 Joe Dunne, 4 Jack Baxter, 5 Ethan Stewart, 6 Luis Morrison-Derbyshire (15 Darius Smith 81m), 7 Joe Kenton (14 Alex Kiwomya 54m) , 8 Tom Tonks, 9 Kaiman Anderson, 10 Joe Willis (16 Nathan Caine 70m), 11 Adam Livingstone. Unused Subs 12 Ntumba Massanka, 17 Jaiden White
Radcliffe: 1 Tom Stewart, 2 Jack Evans, 3 David Fitzpatrick (16 Ben Rydel 40m), 4 Luke Joyce, 5 Richard Smith, 6 Oliver Thornley, 7 Jake Thompson, 8 Nicky Adams, 9 Gareth Evans (15 Matthew Crothers 58m), 10 Luca Navarro, 11 Jem Karacan. Unused Subs: 12 Stephen Carter, 14 George Mercer, 17 Nivaldo Ferreira Rodrigues
Cautions: Joyce (Radcliffe)
Ref: Jamie Conde
Att: 531
Report: Chris Elsley
