No slacking off for Rangers

Winterton 2 Thackley 1

WINTERTON were forced to hang on in the closing stages against a good Thackley side, but came away with an odd goal in three victory at West Street.

Their visitors arrived in red hot goalscoring form, having fired home 19 goals in four games.

Rangers on the other hand were looking to bounce back from their home defeat to Scarborough in midweek.

Thackley looked impressive early on, their movement and composure on the ball giving an example of why they are doing so well at the moment.

Rangers took a minute or two to settle, but Graeme Severn started to get forward and Martin Pembleton and Jake Stannard began to make inroads into the Thackley half.

Rangers looked to attack and Pembleton cut back on the left before curling a shot just wide of the far post.

From there, the hosts continued to press on.

Shots from the visitors were generally from range and there were a few crosses that had no-one to convert.

It was therefore somewhat against the run of play when Thackley took the lead on 42 minutes.

A free-kick on the right was dropped into the box at the near post and Rob Morgan stooped to head home and make it 1-0 at half-time.

Rangers came out strongly from the dressing room as they looked to get back on track in the second half.

Micah Bleau made a muscular run into the box but his shot was blocked away.

Thackley then tried a different tack and more running with the ball started to push Rangers back.

When Thackley broke clean through into the box, goalkeeper Jamie Allen sprang into life to save well at his feet. The ball broke free into the path of a Thackley attacker, whose lifted shot was superbly saved not far off his 18 yard box. This double save kept Rangers in the game with just under an hour played.

Two minutes later and Rangers grabbed an equaliser.

A cross to the far post was contested by Dean Wilburn, then headed square, where Gavin Cooper reacted quickest to stuff home from close range.

It was game on.

Bleau again had a shot blocked from a Stannard cross on the hour mark. Then Thackley had a good spell, a free-kick into the box was contested by Griffin, before Bleau cleaned up for Rangers.

Liam Wilkin made an immediate impact when he came on for Stannard, taking a through-ball off the Thackley attacker's toe with his first touch.

He was involved yet again shortly after when a cross from the right flew across the face of goal, just inches from Wilkin's outstretched leg at the far post.

Thackley then broke down the right and crossed to the far post, where Andy King's spectacular volley flew inches over the bar from the edge of the box.

Rangers had brought on Slack and Frost and the addition of these fresh legs gave the hosts a new vigour. But time was beginning to run out.

With a minute to go, O'Neill and Frost ganged up to dispossess a Thackley midfielder. Frost moved down the right before firing in a cross that Slack met on his angled run and fired home inside the near post to give Rangers the lead.

The referee added five minutes of extra time and Rangers lived dangerously.

Bleau was caught in possession trying to carry the ball out. The ball back in went through a striker's leg at the near post but the next player turned and shot, only for Allen to smother comfortably.

Rangers weathered this last Thackley rush to earn a deserved victory.

They now face a big game tomorrow evening when Dinnington come to West Street in the Presidents Cup semi-final.