Oct 7, 2025
Stafford Rangers were on the losing end of a 5 goal thriller as their winless run was extended to five games.
Rangers were always chasing the game after gifting their visitors three early goals and, despite a rousing fight back in the second half, the early damage proved too much although had Dan Cockerline converted a late penalty, Rangers would surely have gone on to win it.
With the injured Ben O’Hanlon an expected absentee from the side that drew with Bootle, Kaiman Anderson and Ash Fallon were also left out of the starting line up. In their places came Callum Wilson, Zidan Sutherland and James McQuilkin.
The game got off to a lively start but it took Witton less than 7 minutes to make the breakthrough. Scott Wara got caught in possession allowing Joe Duckworth to send Tom Hoyle clear. Arron Davies hesitated and Hoyle slotted past the Stafford keeper.
Two minutes later and further sloppy defending allowed Hoyle to fire in Witton’s second.
A poor start got worse on 16 minutes when James Lawrie picked out Duckworth and he turned the ball into the net with ease to give Witton a luxury 3-0 lead.
Rangers remained disjointed and lost. Ben Harrison flicked a header wide as Witton looked to add a fourth.
It was approaching the half hour mark before Stafford threatened with Cuff’s volley forcing a near post save from Morgan Sutton. Five minutes later, Cockerline’s curler had Sutton going full length to his right.
In between, Rangers survived a penalty appeal when Wara challenged Duckworth with referee Kieron Rogers giving the visitors no more than a corner.
Witton missed another opportunity shortly before the break with neither Harrison nor Tom Farrall able to add the finishing touch and there was a rare sound of boos from Rangers fans as their team went off at the half time break.
Mason Rees replaced Sutherland at the interval and his presence helped to trigger a much improved display in the second half.
Rangers needed an immediate response and nearly got one when Sutton saved well from Jack Birch. But the goal wasn’t long in coming and Wara reduced the arrears on 49 minutes when he steered his header past Sutton following a James O’Neill throw.
O’Neill’s throws caused Witton further trouble on the hour when Sutton dropped one only for Birch to fire over.
Cuff struck a low free kick straight at the Witton keeper before another O’Neill throw pulled another back on 68 minutes as Cockerline got the final touch after Wara’s initial flick.
Rangers were then given an excellent opportunity to draw level on 78 minutes when Andy Burns was tripped in the area but Sutton went the right way to save Cockerline’s penalty.
Rangers still had their chances. James Baillie cleared away a goal bound effort from John Atherton while O’Neill fired over. Harry Brazel kept out a header from Cockerline and McQuilkin missed out twice in a matter of minutes.
Sutton had the final say with a good save from Wilson but Rangers only had themselves to blame following that dreadful start.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Arron Davies, 2 Callum Wilson, 3 Andy Burns (17 Tamasi Wara 90+6m), 4 Jack Sherratt (14 James McQuilkin 73m), 5 Jimmy O’Neill, 6 Scott Wara, 7 John Atherton, 8 Jack Birch, 9 Dan Cockerline, 10 Zidan Sutherland (12 Mason Rees 46m), 11 Joe Cuff (15 Kaiman Anderson 66m). Unused Sub 16 Ash Fallon
Witton Albion: 1 Morgan Sutton, 2 Jacob Hamman (14 James Baillie 50m), 3 Tom Farrall, 4 Ben Harrison (16 Remi Raymond 82m), 5 Geffry Ebhote. 6 Adam Bott, 7 James Lawrie, 8 Harry Brazel, 9 Joe Duckworth (12 Freddy Garbutt 73m), 10 Tom Hoyle, 11 Max Harrop (15 Aaron Fleming 66m). Unused Sub 17 Harry Woods
Goals: Stafford: Wara 49m, Cockerline 68m Witton: Hoyle (2) 7m, 9m, Duckworth 16m
Referee: Kieron Rogers
Cautions: Cuff, Cockerline, Wara (Stafford) Lawrie, Brazel (Witton)
Att: 503
Report by Chris Elsley
Oct 4, 2025
Stafford Rangers earned their first point in four matches with a goalless draw at a windy Stan Robinson Stadium.
The worst of Storm Amy had passed by earlier in the day but the strong blustery wind affected play from both sides.
Rangers made two changes to the side defeated in the last minute at Bury with keeper Callum Smith making way for Arron Davies while Kingsley Adu-Gyamfi picked up an injury in training allowing a recall for John Atherton.
Bootle created a half chance for Joe Woolley virtually from the kick off but their plans received a set back when defender Jay Roberts limped out of the game with less than three minutes on the clock.
Apart from that early chance for the visitors, it was Rangers who were the stronger of the two teams in the first half.
Anthony Thompson was the saviour for Bootle with a number of crucial saves, starting when he clawed away a wind assisted centre from Ben O’Hanlon. Anthony Miley tripped Dan Cockerline in the following play but referee Julia Kings wasn’t interested in penalty appeals.
A minute later, Kaiman Anderson and Cockerline were involved in a scramble in the area but neither was able to get in a telling shot and substitute Michael Simpson cleared off the line.
Rangers’ own plans were unsettled when Ben O’Hanlon picked up a thigh injury forcing a re-organisation to the formation to go three at the back.
Anderson missed out on two more chances that came his way – the best of which saw a header lack the power needed to get past Lewis Earl who cleared off the line.
Just past the hour, Scott Wara looked like he had put Rangers ahead but Thompson pulled off a stunning save to his left to keep his side on level terms.
At the other end, Rangers almost created their own downfall when Wara’s attempt to cut out a square ball nearly diverted it past Davies – the Stafford keeper just managed to get a touch to force it wide.
Davies then saved well from Woolley but the best chances fell to Stafford. A great flick from Cockerline put Wilson clear only for Thompson to stand his ground and save.
Joe Cuff was next to miss out when he broke into the Bootle area but Thompson again saved. Soon after, he denied Jimmy O’Neill.
With the game entering the final stages, the Merseysiders sensed the chance to snatch a winner and it needed a great challenge from Wara to deny Dior Angus a shot while Jack Lenehan could only put his shot at Davies in goal.
In added time, Davies made another good save to keep out Angus and earn his side a much needed point.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Arron Davies, 2 Andy Burns, 3 Ben O’Hanlon (17 Callum Wilson 33m), 4 Jack Sherratt , 5 Jimmy O’Neill, 6 Scott Wara, 7 John Atherton (14 Mason Rees 77m), 8 Jack Birch (15 James McQuilkin 90+5m), 9 Dan Cockerline, 10 Kaiman Anderson (16 Joe Cuff 70m), 11 Ashley Fallon (12 Zidan Sutherland 70m).
Bootle: 1 Anthony Thompson, 2 Jay Roberts (12 Michael Simpson 3m), 3 Sean Smith, 4 Anthony Miley, 5 Thomas Hannigan, 6 Lewis Earl, 7 Samuel Hughes, 8 Jack Lenehan, 9 Dior Angus, 10 Joe Woolley, 11 Harry Rimmer (16 Jack McGowan 77m). Unused Subs: 14 Ben Dufton-Kelly, 15 Ethen Goldbourne, 17 Eion HoganReferee: Julia Kings
Cautions: Miley (Bootle)
Sent Off: Alan Morgan (Bootle Manager)
Att: 590
Report by Chris Elsley
Sep 6, 2025
Stafford Rangers progressed to the 2nd Qualifying Round of the FA Trophy by defeating Boldmere St Michaels at the Stan Robinson Stadium.
To add spice to the tie, Rangers manager Neil Kitching was both a player and manager of the Mikes while Nick Amos and Ian Cooper were also with the club before their move to Stafford last season.
Kitching made four changes to the side beaten at Lower Breck last week. Callum Smith’s first start was enforced due to the suspension of Arron Davies. Jimmy O’Neill came in for Scott Wara who was carrying a slight injury. John Atherton replaced Ash Fallon but the big surprise to home fans was the inclusion of James McQuilkin who had not seen action since the FA Cup defeat against Lutterworth at the start of August.
The visitors began well and created a couple of chances in the opening exchanges – Smith had to block a close range shot from Freddie Cockerell – but it was Rangers who took the lead on 12 minutes when O’Neill’s header took a fortuitous deflection off the unwitting Jack Birch, leaving keeper Harrison Barber helpless.
Having got themselves in front, Rangers controlled play and put together some good moves on a pitch showing considerable improvement now it has received a good watering. All that was lacking were more goals.
Neither Atherton nor McQuilkin was able to convert Alex Worley’s testing centre and the ball trickled wide off Pierre Phillips.
Jack Sherratt had a shot blocked and Dan Cockerline threw himself to meet another cross from Worley but was unable to keep his effort down.
Kaiman Anderson sent a ball across the face of the Boldmere goal before some excellent play from Atherton presented Birch with a chance to add to his tally but he tried to pick out a waiting team mate and Boldmere cleared their lines.
After Cockerline missed a golden opportunity early in the second half, heading over from 6 yards out, Boldmere gradually began to look stronger although it was Rangers who created the better chances.
Zidan Sutherland beat Phillips on the right but declined to shoot when the opportunity arose allowing Boldmere to clear. Worley clipped his shot over the bar and Barber saved from Anderson when the Stafford man had just the keeper to beat.
The visitors pushed forward in the closing stages and nearly levelled when Smith failed to deal with a free kick. Kye Bilton lobbed the ball over the crowd but it came back off the post before being cleared by Cockerline.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Callum Smith, 2 Callum Wilson, 3 Alex Worley, 4 Jack Sherratt (16 Mason Rees 75m), 5 Andy Burns, 6 Jimmy O’Neill, 7 John Atherton (12 Zidan Sutherland 58m), 8 Jack Birch, 9 Dan Cockerline, 10 Kaiman Anderson (15 Ben O’Hanlon 90m) 11 James McQuilkin. Unused Subs: 13 Zac Noble, 14 Ash Fallon
Boldmere: 1 Harrison Barber, 2 Kye Bilton, 3 Pierre Phillips, 4 George Cleet (14 Jordan Gough 53m), 5 Kyle Burke (16 Connor Armstrong 67m), 6 Charlie Manners (17 Nathan Oyemade 75m), 7 Red Simmons, 8 Kory Burke (12 Alex Lock 78m), 9 Harry Wakefield, 10 Danny O’ Callaghan, 11 Freddie Cockerell. Unused Sub: 15 Lewis Allison
Goals: Stafford: Birch 12m
Referee: Keir Sheppard
Cautions: None
Att: 503
Report by Chris Elsley
Aug 25, 2025
Stafford Rangers made it three wins in a row with a Bank Holiday Monday victory over Nantwich Town – a result that lifts the Boro into 2nd place in the table and sets them up nicely for next week’s top of the table match at current leaders Lower Breck.
Rangers made just one change to the side that defeated Wythenshawe Town 48 hours earlier with Joe Cuff making his first start of the season at the expense of Kaiman Anderson who dropped to the bench.
The game couldn’t have got off to a better start for Stafford who scored after just 36 seconds – and that included a 15 second delay caused by an aborted kick off!
It was Zidan Sutherland who gave the Boro the lead as he hooked home a cross from Callum Wilson who had advanced on the right after breaking up a Nantwich attack.
Rangers had two great chances to add to their lead in the opening 10 minutes. Ben Garratt saved from both Jack Birch and Cuff in 1v1 situations.
Nantwich, with 5 former Stafford players in their starting line up and another on the bench, eventually came in to the game and it needed a good close range save from Arron Davies to prevent Perry Bircumshaw from levelling the scores.
Jack Sherratt then blocked a shot from Kelvin Mellor before both Ben Hockenhull and Patrick Kennedy went off target with headers.
Rangers responded but Garratt saved his side again as Dan Cockerline got clear while a flick header from the Stafford striker went across goal and just wide of the far post.
Garratt – a one time loanee at Stafford – denied his former club again when he held on to a shot from Cuff after some clever work from the no 11 but he was finally beaten for a second time on 44 mins when Birch was on the end of a deep cross from Wilson and side footed home.
Both Sutherland and Cockerline missed chances to add to the score early in the second half following Alex Worley’s corner – the former failing to connect with the ball when in front of goal.
Nantwich made a change at half time with the introduction of Alex Panter and his presence appeared to give them a greater threat but Stafford keeper Davies kept out their first chance with a save from Callum Saunders.
It needed a timely intervention from Birch to deny Byron Harrison while Joel Connelly’s free kick was sent high over the cross bar.
Nantwich finally got the goal they probably deserved on 73 minutes when Panter hit the post from Byron Moore’s cross and Harrison followed up to score from the rebound.
The goal set up a nervy finish for Stafford. Worley blocked from Aidan Roxburgh before a super double save from Davies kept out Harrison.
Mellor and Hockenhull both had chances to snatch a point for the visitors but Rangers held out to take all three points.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Arron Davies, 2 Callum Wilson, 3 Alex Worley, 4 Jack Sherratt, 5 Andy Burns, 6 Scott Wara, 7 Ashley Fallon (15 Mason Rees 87m), 8 Jack Birch, 9 Dan Cockerline, 10 Zidan Sutherland (16 John Atherton 79m), 11 Joe Cuff (12 Kaiman Anderson 67m). Unused Subs 13 Callum Smith, 14 Ben O’Hanlon
Nantwich Town: 1 Ben Garratt, 2 Aidan Roxburgh, 3 Josh Williams (15 Alex Panter 46m), 4 Kelvin Mellor, 5 Ben Hockenhull, 6 Patrick Kennedy, 7 Callum Saunders (17 Ben Greenhop 61m), 8 Fenton Green (16 Byron Moore 66m), 9 Byron Harrison, 10 Joel Connolly, 11 Perry Bircumshaw. Unused Subs 12 Patrick Jarrett, 14 Joe Robbins
Goals: Stafford: Sutherland 1, Birch 44; Nantwich: Harrison 73
Referee: James Hall
Cautions: Mellor, Saunders (Nantwich)
Att: 789
Report by Chris Elsley
Aug 19, 2025
Stafford Rangers responded well to a poor performance and defeat against Shifnal Town with a deserved win against Congleton under the lights at the Stan Robinson Stadium.
Manager Neil Kitching made four changes to the starting line up, one of which was enforced due to the unavailability of Scott Wara. Alex Worley and Mason Rees were left out with Ben O’Hanlon returning and first starts for Zidan Sutherland and Dan Cockerline in for their first starts of the season. The other change came in goal as Arron Davies joined on loan from Port Vale. Previous incumbent Zac Noble dropped to the bench.
Rangers began well and created a couple of half chances before a Congleton counter attack saw Ebou Badjie release Daniel Needham only for Davies to pass his first test with a fine save.
Congleton’s Matthew Liptrott was cautioned for a two footed challenge on Jack Burke and was joined shortly afterwards by team mate Peter Williams for repeatedly kicking out at Ashley Fallon following a tussle. Another day and another referee may have shown red on both occasions.
Jimmy O’Neill had to be alert to deny Kieran Garner-Knapper a shot on goal and then went close at the other end with a header which was held by Dave Parton.
Congleton started to take control of affairs in the latter stages of the first half. A rare slip from Andy Burns allowed Badjie in but Burns recovered to block. Then, O’Neill made a good tackle just inside the area as Badjie threatened again. As paly reached 45 minutes, the visitors won a free kick which Shaun Brisley was unable to convert at the back post.
But, in the third minute of added time, Rangers struck. A long ball from Jack Sherratt was collected by Sutherland and he cut inside and took the ball past the keeper before shooting through a number of visiting defenders. It was a goal against the run of play but deserved over the 45 minutes.
Rangers began the second half on the front foot but a misplaced pass from Jack Sherratt almost undid all the good work as it presented Needham with a great chance. Fortunately for Sherratt, the shot went wide of Davies’ right hand post.
A minute later, Sutherland was within an inch or two of doubling Stafford’s lead after linking with Cockerline but his shot rebounded back off the post.
Further chances came at both ends. Sutherland and Kaiman Anderson both put theirs over for Stafford while Ethan Hartshorn did the same for the opposition.
A dangerous free kick from Needham saw Jack Bates have three goals at levelling the scores but Davies kept his goal intact. The Stafford keeper then saved from Badjie who diverted a ball from Needham towards goal. Needham wasted another chance when he lead a 4 v2 counter attack but chose to go alone and shot tamely at Davies.
Congleton’s hopes of an equaliser were dealt a blow on 76mins when Williams was sent off for a second yellow, this time for a foul on Sherratt, but they were still a threat going forward and it needed Burns to block from Blake to keep Stafford ahead.
Parton denied Cockerline as Stafford looked to secure the win but Sutherland’s first half strike proved sufficient.
Stafford Rangers: 1 Arron Davies, 2 Callum Wilson, 3 Ben O’Hanlon (12 Alex Worley 71m), 4 Jack Sherratt, 5 Andy Burns, 6 Jimmy O’Neill, 7 Ashley Fallon, 8 Jack Birch, 9 Dan Cockerline, 10 Zidan Sutherland, 11 Kaiman Anderson (15 John Atherton 78m). Unused Subs 13 Zac Noble, 14 Mason Rees, 16 Joe Cuff
Congleton Town: 1 Dave Parton, 2 Matthew Liptrott, 3 Owen Morris, 4 Peter Williams, 5 Shaun Brisley (15 Thomas Allen 80m), 6 Jack Bates, 7 George Sankey (14 Brian Barton 66m), 8 Ethan Hartshorn, 9 Ebou Badjie (12 Thomas Hampton 75m), 10 Kieran Garner-Knapper, 11 Daniel Needham. Unused Subs 16 Owen Beamon, 17 Richard Duffy
Goals: Stafford: Sutherland (45+3m)
Referee: Callum Johnson
Cautions: Wilson, O’Neill (Stafford) Liptrott, Duffy, Brisley, Williams (x2) (Congleton)
Sent Off: Williams (Congleton) – 2 cautions
Att: 615
Report by Chris Elsley
