Graham Deakin made one change to the same starting XI that had performed well against Bury with Callum Wilson replacing John Atherton. Matt Hearsey – a new arrival from Stafford Town – had to settle for a place on the bench.
First Half
Rangers began the better of the two sides and nearly went ahead inside 20 seconds via what would have been a freak own goal, but they couldn’t find a way through. Kidsgrove were allowed to bully their way into the game and, once ahead, they were the masters of game management.
Apart from the early chance when Joshua Thorpe’s back header beat Aaron Woolrich but was spared embarrassment when the ball went inches wide, Rangers’ best effort came from Wilson who fired just wide from around 20 yards out.
A minute earlier, Stafford keeper Scott Moloney had saved from Nat Morley to keep out Kidsgrove’s best opportunity of the opening 10 minutes.
The visitors began to establish a stronger grip of the game with Moloney going to his left to save from Alex Barnett before the unmarked Thorpe headed wide at the back.
Kaiman Anderson missed a chance for Rangers after being played in by Dan Cockerline. Forced to rush his shot, he couldn’t beat Woolrich who gathered at the second attempt.
The final 20 minutes of the first half belonged to Kidsgrove and in that time, they struck twice.
Harry Flowers blocked two efforts from Barnett before Jay Ford fired over. Logan Cousins, back in a Kidsgrove shirt after a short spell with Rangers, also fired over before the visitors took the lead in the 34th minute.
Barnett and Matt Rhead exchanged passes before the latter played Cousins in with a ball behind Ben O’Hanlon. His cross was met by Barnett and although Moloney saved, Morley followed up to fire in the rebound.
The lead was doubled three minutes before the break. Rangers switched off as Ford appeared to over hit his free kick but Morley kept it in play and had time to pick out Thorpe with a deep cross and this time the Kidsgrove defender made no mistake.
Second Half
Deakin made two changes at half time with Hearsey and Osaze Okuonghae replacing Wilson and Ash Fallon and the two debutantes soon made their mark as both were involved in Rangers pulling one back on 53 minutes.
Osaze Okuonghae took a pass from Jimmy O’Neill and advanced before releasing Hearsey on the left. His well placed cross was met by Anderson’s head at the back post and Rangers were back in it.
But it was Kidsgrove who looked the most likely to add to the scoring in the following quarter of an hour.
Morley got behind the Stafford defence and looked a certainty to score when Moloney was only able to parry the shot but O’Hanlon raced back to make a goal saving clearance just ahead of the Kidsgrove man.
The Stafford keeper then made a well timed dive at the feet of Natty Stewart.
Rangers upped their game as substitute Atherton fired over when well placed, Flowers headed wide while another Stafford sub, Dylan Scott, couldn’t find a clean shot.
But it was Cousins, impressive on his return to Marston Road, who struck the killer blow on 84 minutes. Receiving a long clearance from Woolrich, he was gifted too much time and despite being surrounded by three defenders, he got in a shot from the edge of the area that beat Moloney at his near post.
Tempers on both sides got a little heated in the last 15 minutes, culminating in Thorpe being sent off for two poor tackles on Andy Burns and Cockerline.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Scott Moloney, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Ben O’Hanlon, 4 James McQuilkin (16 Jack Sherratt 84m), 5 Jimmy O’Neill, 6 Harry Flowers, 7 Callum Wilson (15 Matthew Hearsey 46m), 8 Ashley Fallon (17 Osaze Okuonghae 46m), 9 Dan Cockerline, 10 Jack Birch (14 Dylan Scott 75m), 11 Kaiman Anderson (12 John Atherton 65m).
Kidsgrove: 1 Aaron Woolrich, 2 Reuben Fielding, 3 Zayn Sadiq (15 Henry Brereton 80m), 4 Jack Bromfield, 5 Oliver Jepson, 6 Joshua Thorpe, 7 Alex Barnett (16 Natty Stewart 62m), 8 Jay Ford (12 Ritchie Sutton 90m), 9 Matt Rhead, 10 Logan Cousins (14 Charlie Bradbury 90+4m), 11 Nat Morley. Unused Subs 18 Ryan Brown (gk)
Goals: Stafford: Anderson 53 mins – Kidsgrove: Morley 34m, Thorpe 42m, Cousins 84m
The visitors, recovering from their own problems which saw them expelled from the Football League in 2019, were backed by a large travelling support which contributed to Rangers’ biggest home gate of the season.
Too often in the past, Rangers’ sides have failed to deliver on the big occasion but this time out, they belied their place in the relegation zone to prove a fair match for the promotion chasing Lancastrians.
First Half
As expected, Bury made much of the early running but without posing too much of a threat to the Stafford goal. A well struck drive from Owen Robinson some 30 yards out from goal found its way untroubled in to the arms of Scott Moloney.
Then, the visitors were gifted an opening on 16 minutes when referee James Hall pointed to the spot following what looked a clean tackle on Mo Touray by Ben O’Hanlon.
The Bury man must have had the same feelings as he tamely directed his penalty against the post. Ash Fallon got in the way of Robinson’s follow up before Callum Spooner sent the ball high over the bar. Justice was delivered.
At the other end, Rangers snapped up their first opportunity in style to take the lead in the 27th minute.
A long ball from Jimmy O’Neill was flicked on by John Atherton to Jack Birch who got ahead of James Neild and clipped it over the advancing Mitchell Allen.
Jack Birch opens the scoring
Dan Cockerline – making his first start for 6 weeks – showed Rangers’ fans what they had been missing throughout the afternoon and came close to marking his return with a goal as he stooped low to get to O’Hanlon’s centre but the ball rolled through comfortably to Allen.
Shortly before half time, another Stafford attack produced a corner but ultimately came to nothing with the ball just not falling in their favour.
Second Half
The second half began with Bury again making the early showing. The impressive Bebeto Gomes had a shot deflected wide then Touray went in search of another penalty but he went to ground far too easily under the challenge from Harry Flowers. Both players had already received cautions risked further participation as they squared up but the referee took no action.
Bury managed to level on 54 minutes with a goal from nothing. Leo Graham’s corner found its way to Bailey Sloane whose hook back from the back post looped over Moloney.
Soon after, Graham missed a chance to put Bury ahead when he dragged his shot across the face of goal.
Although Rangers survived this moment, they suffered a blow just past the hour mark when Fallon was forced off with a nose bleed. While Fallon was receiving treatment, Rangers replaced another midfielder Atherton with Dylan Scott.
Scott nearly created a goal when put Anderson through but he was just beaten to the ball by Gomes who raced over from the right back position.
At the other end, Bury pressed for a winner themselves. Moloney kept out a free kick from Kai Evans while Touray curled his chance high over. Graham and Joe Piggott also missed the target.
But, in the 89th minute, Lewis Rawsthorn attacked on the left and drilled in a low centre that Touray guided past the Stafford keeper.
Stafford heads dropped but lifted again when the boards showed a minimum 10 minutes time to be added. It was in the 2nd of those added minutes that Rangers grabbed their equaliser.
James McQuilkin dispossessed Toto Nsiala allowing Birch to put Anderson away and he beat Allen from the angle to the delight of the home camp.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Scott Moloney, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Ben O’Hanlon (17 Callum Wilson 73m), 4 James McQuilkin, 5 Jimmy O’Neill, 6 Harry Flowers, 7 John Atherton (12 Dylan Scott 61m), 8 Ashley Fallon (15 Mason Rees 64m), 9 Dan Cockerline (14 Joe Thomas 77m), 10 Jack Birch, 11 Kaiman Anderson. Unused Sub ,16 Osaze Okuonghae
Bury: 1 Mitchell Allen, 2 Bebeto Gomes, 3 Bailey Sloane, 4 James Neild, 5 Oscar Threlkeld (14 Toto Nsiala 90m), 6 Bobby Carroll, 7 Owen Robinson (12 Kai Evans 60m), 8 Callum Spooner (17 Lewis Rawsthorn 76m), 9 Mo Touray, 10 Joe Piggott, 11 Leo Graham. Unused Subs 15 Rustam Stepans, 16 Regan Riley
It wasn’t an easy passage against fellow Step 4 side Lichfield City – who currently sit 13th in the NPL Midlands Division – as the County Town side had to come from behind before going through on penalties.
Graham Deakin took the opportunity to give Callum Wilson some game time after the right sided midfielder had been out of action for 7 weeks. Also making a return as a second half substitute was Dan Cockerline.
Making his debut in goal was Scott Moloney and he played his part in the victory, most notably with a superb save during the shoot out.
Ironically, both of Lichfield’s goals during the 90 minutes came from the penalty spot.
Joe Haines gave the visitors a deserved lead on 17 minutes when Harry Flowers was penalised for a foul on Harvey Smith, then moments after Rangers thought that they had won it through Jack Birch, John Mills levelled the scores in added time following a shirt pull by Jimmy O’Neill on Smith.
Even before they opened the scoring, Lichfield had threatened to give the home side another miserable night. Smith hit the bar in just the second minute when he lunged to get on the end of Luca Taylor’s cross then Moloney got just enough to keep out another effort from the Lichfield number 9.
Charlie Foots missed out when he drove wide following a lay off by Hisham Chiha before Moloney saved his side again to deny Jay Clements.
Rangers’ best chance in an otherwise disappointing first half fell to Flowers who heard wide from a corner.
But as much as the first half was Lichfield’s, the second was Stafford’s. An injury to Shay Willock saw the introduction of Cockerline and he soon showed the talents that Rangers have been missing during his absence.
Ash Fallon and John Atherton were also having a greater influence on proceedings and it was the former who got Rangers level on 64 minutes.
He set off on a determined run down the centre before releasing Joe Thomas on the right.
Brendan Bunn saved from Thomas but Fallon had continued his run and though his first effort was blocked on the line by Josh Mansell, he managed to score at the second attempt.
Rangers’ best move of the night saw Atherton and Thomas combine before Birch’s shot was parried by Bunn. Birch then fired wide while Flowers also missed the target with a header.
In the closing stages, Moloney saved from Foots before Rangers struck what looked to have been the winner in the 90th minute as James McQuilkin’s free kick was headed on by Flowers and Birch fired in.
But there was still time for more drama and three minutes in to added time, John Mills levelled from the spot after O’Neill offended.
Rangers went first in the shoot out and Cockerline gave his side an early advantage which was extended when Jamie Spiers fired over for Lichfield. Kaiman Anderson saw his saved but Moloney kept Rangers ahead with an excellent dive to his right to keep out Mansell.
McQuilkin and Mills both scored their respective kicks, as did Birch to put Stafford 3-1 up. Foots had to score to keep Lichfield in the competition but fired wide to send Rangers through to a home tie against either Foley Meir or Wolverhampton Casuals.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Scott Moloney, 2 Callum Wilson (16 Andy Burns 71m), 3 Ben O’Hanlon, 4 Ashley Fallon, 5 Jimmy O’Neill, 6 Harry Flowers, 7 John Atherton, 8 Jack Birch, 9 Shay Willock (15 Dan Cockerline 54m), 10 Joe Thomas (14 James McQuilkin 77m), 11 AJ George (12 Kaiman Anderson 68m). Unused Subs 17 Max Barlow
Lichfield City: 1 Brendan Bunn, 2 Joshua Mansell, 3 Joseph Haines (15 John Mills 86m), 4 Jamie Spiers, 5 Leighton McMenemy, 6 Harry Eden, 7 Charlie Foots, 8 Jay Clements (17 Lewi Burnside 60m (16 Thomas Brown 74m)), 9 Harvey Smith, 10 Hisham Chiha, 11 Luca Taylor (12 Jack Edwards 60m). Unused Subs 14 Jim Elkes
The forwards harried Chasetown into several mistakes while the defence and midfield were winning their battles.
Twice they created excellent opportunities to score but both times they failed to take them – an outcome synonymous with a side wondering when the next win will come.
Then, Chasetown’s Ty Webster was allowed to cut inside onto his left foot and he fired in a shot, from a couple of yards outside the area, that beat Arron Davies in the top corner. It was Chasetown’s first serious effort on goal but paved the way to them taking all three points from this local derby.
Rangers made three changes to the side beaten at Avro. As expected, Michael McGrath returned to Nuneaton with Jack Sherratt coming back in while Jadel Musanhu made way for Jimmy O’Neill. Ashley Fallon was the other change for Mason Rees who dropped to the bench.
Rangers created a golden chance to open the scoring on 14 minutes when Kaiman Anderson put Jack Birch through on goal. Curtis Pond did well to make the initial save which allowed time for Chasetown to get bodies back and Birch’s follow up effort was blocked on the line by Nathan Cameron.
Just a few minutes later, Birch and Anderson were involved again as another good opportunity went begging, this time it was Anderson who was kept out by Pond.
The Chasetown player became the second visiting keeper to be penalised for holding the ball for longer than the permitted eight seconds but Rangers were unable to take advantage from the resulting corner.
Despite the bright start from Rangers, they didn’t take those chances and were made to pay on 38 minutes when Webster fired them ahead.
Soon after, Joe Thompson combined with Luke Yates but fired wide. At the other end, Anderson headed wide from O’Neill’s centre.
But hopes of a Stafford fightback were dashed a couple of minutes into the second half when they conceded a soft free kick on the left.
Davies elected to punch clear but his weak effort could only reach Yates who hooked the ball into the back of the net.
Harry Flowers headed wide for Rangers while Anderson fired wide but, as time went on, hopes of salvaging anything diminished.
In the early stages of the afternoon, Chasetown had looked some way off a side wanting to make a challenge for the play offs. Even now with a two goal lead under their belts, they still looked nothing more than a middle table outfit, but they didn’t need to. They just had to get the basics right and the body language of several Rangers players indicated that the points were already lost.
Rangers did pull one back when O’Neill, playing in a striker’s role, headed home Ben O’Hanlon’s centre but it was too little, too late.
The last time Rangers won a league game was on 28 October when they thumped Stalybridge 4-0. Since then, they have picked up just 2 points, scored 12 goals and conceded 24, losing their last six league games.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Arron Davies, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Ben O’Hanlon, 4 Jack Sherratt (15 Harley Irwin 90m), 5 Jimmy O’Neill, 6 Harry Flowers, 7 John Atherton, 8 Ashley Fallon (17 Mason Rees 75m), 9 Bradley Mansell (12 Jadel Musanhu 77m), 10 Jack Birch (14 Logan Cousins 75m), 11 Kaiman Anderson (Dylan Scott 63m).
Chasetown: 1 Curtis Pond, 2 Mitch Clarke, 3 Zach Findlay (14 Joe Dunne 78m), 4 Kieran Fenton, 5 Nathan Cameron, 6 Sam Wilding, 7 Tom Thorley, 8 Joe Thompson (12 Lewis Newman 90+2m), 9 Luke Yates (15 Brandon Newell 87m), 10 Ty Webster (18 Liam Kirton 63m), 11 George Cater (16 Jack Langston 71m).
Once again soft goals were conceded but the scoreline doesn’t tell the full story as three Rangers players ended up in hospital.
After conceding 14 goals in their previous four league games, Rangers manager Neil Kitching promised changes and he was true to his word with no less than seven made to the starting XI.
Some were enforced with the likes of Jimmy O’Neill, John Atherton and Callum Wilson all injured. Goalkeeper Arron Davies also reported unfit in the morning while Joe Thomas was unwell although he was named as one of the five substitutes.
Heavy overnight rain left some muddy areas of the pitch and the referee insisted on one goal mouth being sanded before the game eventually kicked off some 10 minutes later than scheduled.
There were less than three minutes played when Dan Cockerline fell awkwardly and dislocated his troublesome left shoulder. Dylan Scott replaced him and was involved as Rangers created a good chance for Kaiman Anderson but, with the ball also going away from him, Anderson was unable to keep his shot on target.
Atherton took the lead on 16 minutes with their first meaningful attack. Che Ranger was dispossessed on the right. Colls moved the ball to the opposite side of the field and Rodney Ajayi’s one touch put Kielen Adams through to slot past Zach Noble.
The visitors then extended their lead on 36 minutes and the ease of how Javid Swaby-Nevin was able to get into the area annoyed Kitchen. The Atherton man found Harry Showman and he beat Noble at his near post from an acute angle.
Rangers needed a response and got it as the clock ticked into added time at the end of the first half. Rangers showed his attacking qualities with a run at the Colls defence. Ben O’Hanlon sent in a deep cross to the back post where Scott had the relatively simple task of heading in.
Whatever Kitching and his team may have said at half time was deemed almost worthless within a minute of the restart when Scott Wara collided with Noble as he shepherded the ball back to the Stafford keeper. After lengthy treatment, Noble went off with a suspected broken arm and collar bone while Wara was suffering from concussion. Both joined Cockerline in hospital for further treatment.
With no substitute goalkeeper, it was left to forward Anderson to take on the role.
A goal down, Rangers could not afford to simply protect the stand in keeper and James McQuilkin almost levelled with a low drive that struck the post.
But, Anderson was left exposed when Chinedu Uche won possession on the left and advanced to put in Showman to make it 3-1 on 57 minutes.
It probably should have been four when the ball fell to Remi Effunnuga but he was unable to get in a shot.
At the other end, Scott missed a chance to pull one back when Luke Lomax saved with his feet after an initial poor clearance from the Atherton keeper.
Anderson made a good save to turn away a well struck drive from Sam Sheridan before Jack Birch gave Rangers hope by reducing the arrears on 84 minutes following a ball over the top from Kingsley Adu-Gyamfi.
But, it was not to be and the visitors held out for the win.
The bad luck that dogged Rangers with three injuries can not be helped but the game was essentially lost, once again, by defensive errors that presented the opposition with three goals.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Zach Noble (15 Kingsley Adu-Gyamfi 51m), 2 Andy Burns, 3 Ben O’Hanlon, 4 Mason Rees, 5 Scott Wara (17 Jadel Mushanhu 51m), 6 Jack Birch, 7 Che Ranger, 8 James McQuilkin, 9 Dan Cockerline (16 Dylan Scott 5m (12 Joe Thomas 89m)), 10 Kaiman Anderson, 11 Jack Sherratt (14 Ashley Fallon 60m).
Atherton Collieries: 1 Luke Lomax, 2 Ben Rydel (16 Tom Warren 58m), 3 Javid Swaby-Nevin, 4 Rodney Ajayi (15 Luke Nock 83m), 5 Alex Doyle, 6 Niall Battersby, 7 Harry Showman, 8 Remi Efunnuga, 9 Kielen Adams (12 Mark Isong 67m), 10 Joe Piggott (14 Sam Sheridan 67m), 11 Chinedu Uche (17 Sonny Reeves 83m).
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