Rangers fall to league leaders
Rangers’ player Josh Clamp attacks down the left wing at A&P Park on Saturday. Photo Peter Jones.
Rangers AFC came out on the wrong side of a see-sawing Nelson division one football encounter at A&P Park on Saturday.
Up against competition leaders Tahuna FC, Rangers battled hard to put themselves in a winning position late in the match, only to see it snatched away by the visitors, who came out on top of an entertaining clash 4-3.
Rangers struck first, prolific front-runner Keagan Mortimer scoring in the 18thminute after a clever through ball put him one-on-one with the visiting keeper.
The home side’s lead did not last long however, Tahuna equalising four minutes later.
The visitors went 2-1 up 15 minutes later, diminutive striker Van Roland Hlawnceu making the most of confusion in the Rangers’ box to stab the ball home.
Six minutes later, the scores were level again, the influential and elusive Jeimar Zapata finishing coolly after good build-up work from Mortimer.
Level 2-2 at the break, Rangers pushed hard for the go-ahead goal and it came in the 66thminute, a stinging shot by Jeimar being parried by the keeper to the feet of midfelder Bjorn Waechter who calmly side-footed home.
However, four minutes later it was 3-3, a desperate clearance from a Rangers defender being skewed into his own net.
Soon after Rangers had a golden opportunity to reclaim the lead when Jeimar was felled in the penalty area, but Tore Waechter’s well-struck penalty was superbly saved.
Both sides continued to push hard for a winner and ultimately it the visitors’ physicality that created the winning goal. After a direct attack, Rangers were unable to clear the ball out of their area, leaving Gregor Peacock free to lash it into the net from the left corner of the 18-yard box, his strike sending the visitors into wild celebrations.
To their credit the home side continued to attack until the final whistle, but had the added disappointment of seeing Zeimar sent off in the 95th minute as time ran out.
This was a worthy effort from the predominantly-youthful Rangers combination, against the top side in the league. They were outgunned physically but gave as good as they got in the aggression stakes, contesting 50/50 balls relentlessly and creating plenty of scoring opportunities.
In other results FC Nelson beat Richmond 6-1 while Nelson Suburbs Reserves beat Golden Bay 7-2.
Nelson division one points table after four games: Tahuna 10, FC Nelson 9, Suburbs 7, Rangers 6, Golden Bay 1, Richmond 1.
Club football
In local senior men’s club football, there was the usual mix of wide scorelines and close encounters.
Renwick Lone Wolves and Trojans Angels drew 3-3 at the Renwick Domain, Rangers Colts beat BV Masters 3-1, Rangers City downed Trojans Strikers 5-3, Rangers Masters overcame Trojans Spartans 7-2, Trojans AFC beat Picton 6-0, Central won the derby match against their Wolves side 5-0 while Rangers Reserves beat Rangers Athletic 2-1.
Marlborough division one points after five rounds: Trojans AFC 15, Rangers Reserves 15, Rangers City 12, Renwick 11, Rangers Athletic 9, Rangers Masters 9, Trojans Angels 7, Central FC 6, Picton 6, Central Wolves 5, Rangers Colts 3, Trojans Strikers 3, BV Masters 1, Trojans Spartans 0.
In the senior women’s grade, Picton beat Rangers Weapons 4-2 and BV Chicks beat Trojans 3-1.
Marlborough senior women’s points after three rounds: BV Chicks 9, Picton 3, Trojans 3, Rangers 3.