A Game Too Far

A crowd of 410 watched this fascinating game between the top two teams in this Spartan South Midland League Premier Division title decider at the BEP Stadium. Rangers went into the game knowing that a draw would bring them the title. New Salamis knew that only a win would do. After a goalless first half it was the visitors that took the honours, deservedly winning by two goals to nil. The first half was tight with few real chances for either side and to coin the old phrase, you could hardly have got the proverbial Rizzla between them. New Salamis earned an early corner, scrambled away by Rangers. A full 12 minutes passed as both teams probed before a Rangers corner from Wyllie was too deep to cause a problem. Three minutes later and the excellent Josh Urquhart was on hand to clear a dangerous cross as Salamis pressed. There followed a hopeful penalty shout that was rightly waved away before a Salamis free kick from deep was headed well wide. Rangers again hit a corner too deep and the visitors broke well with Rangers retreating quickly in numbers to snuffle out the threat. Half hour in and another corner for the home side was wasted. It was Salamis' turn for a corner, well cleared by Alex Kedzierski. In the 36th minute Rangers keeper, Jack Brooker, made a good save low down at his near post. Rangers immediately hit back, Liam Enver-Marum just delaying his shot, allowing the block for a corner. From the corner Urquhart was desperately unlucky to see his header cleared off the line. On the stroke of half-time a good header at the back post was well held by Brooker.

The second half began much as the first had finished with with Salamis forcing several corners. With little between the two for the opening 15 minutes of the half it was New Salamis that needed the breakthrough and on 61 minutes they did just that. A free kick was whipped in from Rangers' right and and a diving header from Josie opened the scoring, with the home defence static. The home side were stunned and for the next 15 minutes it was New Salamis on top as they showed their quality. Rangers managed to limit the visitors with some desperate defending. With the home side visibly tiring the pressure finally told when some great work from Salamis' Asamoah set up Ogenseye to score the second, despite Asher Yearwood's best effort on the goal-line. The final ten minutes saw Rangers put up a rallying effort as Salamis hung on to their lead. Sean Coles was almost in, denied by a good tackle. Marcus Wyllie made a good run, his threatening cross scrambled away. Adam Morris then set up Lewis Patrick, his fierce strike well saved low down. Wyllie again broke through, a last ditch tackle denying him. In the closing minutes some neat play from Rangers ended with Gavin James' close range volley clearing the bar. James again got on the end of a decent ball before striking his shot against the foot of the New Salamis goalpost. It was the last chance of the game as New Salamis saw out injury time with some clever game management before their celebrations began.

Rangers Man of the Match: Josh Urquhart. Another great performance from the centre back. Good in the tackle, dominant in the air and composed on the ball. Kept his head throughout, as he has all season. A class act.

Footnote: In the end only one point separated the two sides, with Rangers finishing ten points clear of third placed Hadley, proving that both sides were streets ahead of the rest of the league in a two horse race. However, on the day New Salamis deserved it, with a measured, professional performance and two well taken goals. The new champions should do well at step 4, possessing a very good squad and decent finances and I wouldn't be surprised to see them pushing for promotion again next season. As for Rangers? Well I have not missed a league game all season and the manager and players can hold their heads high following a fantastic season. Those behind the scenes never expected to be fighting for the title in our first ever season at step 5, and whilst I don't doubt that Mark Eaton and his squad thought differently, it all came as a huge bonus to the Rangers committee and supporters following promotion from step 6, leaving us immensely proud of what they have achieved; losing only 3 from 38, scoring 101 goals and conceding just 23 (best defence by far) whilst amassing 93 points. On top of that our top scorer, Marcus Wyllie was also top scorer in the league with 35 goals! In the end it would be fair to say that at the end of the season the run-in had a huge impact, with too many games in too little time weighing heavily on the squad. It was evident at Tring last Tuesday and again against New Salamis, who had far fewer games in the closing weeks. It really was a lot to expect from a team, 17 games in April and May, and begs the question again, why we had so many free Saturdays earlier in the season, especially during January and February when we played just seven games? I personally have a great respect and affection for the Spartan South Midland League but the fixture scheduling surely needs a bit of an overhaul. Disappointingly, it has been announced that we will not be promoted due to ground grading issues, primarily a seated stand that no one will sit in, probably. Evidently the FA prefers to reward stadiums over success on the pitch. The Club has released a statement explaining about the delays in planning and how it affected funding and this can be read elsewhere. The work on the ground will continue, however and will be completed in time for the new season. Whilst bitterly disappointed, the manager and his team are determined to regroup and go again next season. Following the heroics of this season, I for one can't wait!