Rangers AFC beaten, BV Bullets held to draw

With all football in Marlborough cancelled due to the state of the grounds, attention was focussed on the two local sides participating in their respective Nelson division one matches.

On Saturday, the Rangers AFC men’s side lost 4-0 to FC Nelson over the hill while the BV Bullets women’s side drew 1-1 with Nelson Suburbs in a shortened encounter at Renwick.

Rangers, who went into their match three points clear of FC Nelson on the table, did battle on a muddy Guppy Park.

After an even opening, where Rangers created a series of good chances but were unable to convert, Nelson scored on the break to go into halftime with a 1-0 advantage.

Manager Wolfie Waechter said that, in the second spell, his charges became “a bit too eager and gave them too much space” which allowed them to notch a second then, as Rangers pushed everyone forward, two further goals were added in the final minutes.

Wolfie said the visitors were disappointed at 0-0 when the referee awarded them a penalty for handball only for a linesman to come in and persuade the referee to reverse the decision for offside.

“That’s not an excuse for losing the game,” said Wolfie, “but if we had gone 1-0 up that would have changed the flow of the game, but it is what it is.”

Midfielder Bjorn Waechter was a standout for Rangers, putting in a really good shift, along with keeper Liam Kennedy who was not to blame for any of the four goals.

Nelson possessed a very accomplished forward line, meaning the Rangers’ back three of Ryan Palmer, Sam Hickmott and Jordy Columbus were kept busy throughout, a role they handled adeptly.

Nelson have drawn level with Rangers at the top of the standings although the Blenheim side have a better goal difference. Rangers meet Motueka in Blenheim next weekend.

Meanwhile, despite the rain of a week ago it was all sunshine at the Renwick Domain when the Blenheim Valley Bullets women’s side faced off against Nelson division one rivals Nelson Suburbs on Saturday.

The early stages of the first half were very evenly-matched, the match goal-less for the first 25 minutes.

It was left to BV striker Lauren Sloan to break the deadlock and she took her opportunity superbly, shaking off the final defender lobbing the ball over Nelson keeper Simone McManus’s head. It slid neatly down the back of net to push the home side into an early lead.

Sloan followed it up a few minutes later with another accurate shot on goal, this one beautifully saved with a dive from McManus.

Undaunted, Suburbs immediately reorganised and then equalised just three minutes later through a solid strike from Amelia Abbott.

As the halftime whistle neared the match was halted because of a nasty injury to Suburbs’ Ellie Kershaw. She sustained a neck injury in a fall and, after a lengthy wait for an ambulance to arrive, the respective management and players decided to call the game off.

She was taken to Wairau Hospital for assessment and remained overnight for observation.

BV management considered the 1-1 score was a fair reflection of the abbreviated day’s efforts. Player of the day for the local combination was Iris Nott for her solid efforts on defence and accurate passing.