Football frontrunners found

There is a four-way tie at the top of the Marlborough men’s division one football standings after the second round of matches were completed under a clear blue sky on Saturday.

Three Rangers teams sit atop the league table, alongside Trojans FC.

Rangers Reserves flexed their muscles on Saturday with an 8-0 victory over Trojans Angels. Campbell Ferguson notched a hat-trick as the Reserves played some intelligent possession-based football and took their chances clinically.

Trojans FC also produced an 8-0 scoreline, against Central FC. Andrew Walmsley and Livison Madumira both score hat-tricks.

Rangers Athletic picked up three points the easy way, being defaulted to by Rangers Masters, while Rangers City scored a 1-0 victory over Rangers Colts, courtesy of a late Damian Ford goal.

Trojans Strikers scored their first win courtesy of a 2-0 victory against clubmates Trojans Spartans.

Renwick Lonewolves showed they will be a threat with a 5-1 win over Crow Tavern Picton, prolific front man Steve McGinnity scoring a hat-trick. The only draw of the round came in the match between Central Wolves and BV Masters, the match ending 2-2.

Points after two rounds: Rangers Athletic 6, Rangers Reserves 6, Trojans FC 6, Rangers City 6, Renwick 4, Central FC 3, Picton 3, Trojans Strikers 3, Central Wolves 2, BV Masters 1, Rangers Colts, Trojans Angels 0, Trojans Spartans 0, Rangers Masters 0.

Cup win

Meanwhile, Rangers AFC made the most of their day trip to Golden Bay for a Chatham Cup clash, coming home with a comprehensive 5-0 win and ticket to the next round of the nationwide competition.

Influential midfielder Tore Waechter described it as a dominant performance.

“We were steady, solid at the back and created so many chances … if it wasn’t for their keeper having a blinder we could have won by much more,” Tore said.

Rangers took a young side west, missing stalwarts such as Jordy Columbus, Keagan Mortimer and Guy Nolan, plus the injured youngster Caleb McAulay - however the youngsters stepped up.

Their first goal was scored by Josh Clamp midway through the first spell, with Jeimar Zapata adding a second in first half added time.

Tana Connor-McClean scored Rangers’ third soon after oranges, then Victor Crafts added a brace to wrap up a comfortable victory.

One of the standouts was 15-year-old Cameron Oakes who made his debut up front and “ran hard all day”, while wingers Connor-McClean and Crafts were named players of the day, their work rate and passing rated top notch.

Next weekend Rangers take on Golden Bay again, this time in the Nelson division one competition. The match will be played in Nelson.