Match Report
Match Report - 30 Aug 2008, St Francis Rangers FC 1st Team lost to Wick
“After such a great start, we simply did not turn up and give any sort of account against an okay Wick side whom we made look good” said Rangers Boss, Dan Bryan.
For all of Wick’s possession and Rangers lack of it in the first half, Wick were fortunate not to be one down right on the stroke of half time when Sam Jeremiah lobbed the advancing keeper only to see his shot hit the top of the crossbar and bounce out for a goal kick. If that had gone in, maybe Rangers would have come out a different side in the 2nd half but it didn’t and neither did they.
Losing Geoff Pitcher after 20 minutes did not help Rangers and with Terry Gacias going in the book a few minutes later, Rangers normal dominant midfield struggled to cope with Wick’s quick pass and movement and with Scott Murfin up front, Wick always looked lively but not that threatening. Simon Lehkyj pulled off a couple of comfortable saves before being tested by his own defender Luke Leppard when his sliced clearance looped up over him. He was relieved to back peddle in time and collect the ball at the 2nd attempt but Wick were certain the ball had crossed the line. A few minutes later, the ref restored parity when a similar incident occurred in the Wick goal mouth with their keeper looking to have carried the ball over the line from a Maynard corner.
The first 15 minutes of the 2nd half saw Wick create numerous good chances but Lehkyj denied them on several occasions before being comfortably beaten by Murfin with a turn and chip from the edge of the box to give Wick a deserved lead. Chris Maynard went in the book on 57 minutes for tackling from behind and although this game was never dirty, the ref had already taken 4 players names when he could have quite easily have booked no-one.
On the half hour mark, Terry Gacias was caught in the head with a trailing boot which left him unconscious and with a nasty gash. After a few minutes of assessing the injury, an ambulance was called and the game was delayed for half an hour. The unfortunate Gacias was replaced by Ian Breeds and for a few minutes, Rangers looked to have a spark in their step as Sam Jeremiah had his first run on goal only to be denied by the goalkeeper. Dan O’Farrell went in the book on 65 and had no real complaints about the booking other than the referee had missed a similar tackle on a Rangers player but failed to stop play. There was a carbon copy of this event on 77 minutes when Elliot Butler was tackled from behind only to see the ref wave play on. Chris Maynard’s frustration got the better of him and he was booked for another late tackle and subsequently sent off for 2 bookable offences. Within minutes of Maynard’s sending off, Wick doubled their lead with a header at the back post from Ben Torode. Wick were delighted to see the 2nd goal go in and take some pressure off after their indifferent start to this campaign.
Rangers Boss Dan Bryan said, “We have a home match this Friday evening against East Grinstead Town and hopefully we can put the Wick performance behind us”. “I can take losing when you are out played and out classed but today’s defeat was our own doing”.
Rangers: Lehkyj, Leppard, Butler, B.Palmer, O’Farrell, Gacias, Wood, Pitcher, Jeremiah, Gault, Maynard. Subs: Slade (20, Pitcher), Breeds (60, Gacias), Djamaluddin (70, Leppard), S.Palmer unused
MOM: Not awarded
Wick 2 - 0 St Francis Rangers FC 1st Team