Bramhall Rangers 7 White Russians 15

Attack is the worst form of defence!

In a change of fortunes for the Rangers it was their defensive capabilities that were lacking this week and they in fact looked quite good going forward, scoring more goals than they had in most recent games.

Belly was resting a knee injury, which had given him a few problems over the last few weeks, Dr Holland was still nursing an Achilles injury, and Mr T and Shiz were scouting for talent in the Baltic’s. It was a threadbare team, with Hedderz OK for the early KO, Pie, Piggy, Rascle (with a niggling back injury) and Nev arriving just before the start to make up the numbers. Mini started his second game of the season in goal, and was still amongst the walking wounded! White Russians had 6 players too so it was a well-matched game.

It was a tense start by both teams, sensing that they were quite evenly matched. The White Russians did take a two-goal lead, breaking quickly with two nippy attackers and some half-hearted Rangers defending. Rangers did hit back through Hedderz after good work by Piggy down the flank. Hedderz was making a last desperate push for the “tin slipper” with just 1 game to go after this!

The order of goals isn’t easy to recall, but safe to say the HT score was 7-4. The highlight of the first half performance was a superbly taken goal from Rascle. A through ball from Piggy dissected the defence, Rascle latched onto it and left it until the last possible moment before gently lifting it over the advancing keeper with a deft right foot touch!! Lovely stuff! Rangers actually ended the half well, clawing back a couple of goals. Piggy also grabbed his first two of the game, the keeper letting a soft shot through his grasp for one and a decent finish from wide for his other. As they say, if you don’t buy a ticket you wont win a Piggy!

HT probably came at a good time for White Russians as the Rangers were biting back. But, as ever a rest was needed and a regrouping to see how the Rangers would approach the second half. We needed to close down the attackers quicker and not give them shooting chances.

Second half started similar to the first, and it was defensive frailties that let to the Russians opening an unassailable gap. Being quicker to the 50/50 balls was a key course to the game, as they looked hungrier in the challenge and mopped up the rebounds off the boards and from Mini’s saves.

Rangers did show promise going forward, Hedderz and Piggy linking up well with just a final pass letting them down. Piggy did grab his third of the game to nearly guarantee him the coveted slipper, though Hedderz did also grab another to keep him in with a very slim chance of the award, driving home with power. Pie got his glory, battling well down the left and the ball falling kindly for him to lash home for his only goal of the game.

Nev was resolute in defence, but was often swamped by Russians on the break, and Mini did his best to stem the tide, pulling off some instinctive saves and bruising and scraping his elbows! A hotly contested game awaits the Rangers in the last match of the season against Northern Canaries. A chance to go out on a high and rebuild for next season!

Final Score: Bramhall Rangers 7 White Russians 15
Goals: Pie (1), Rascle (1), Piggy (3), Hedderz (2)

This report was brought to you by http://minimanadventures.blogspot.com/. First for interesting things.

Me showing my skills

www.tinyurl.com/cqh6k

Well ok its not me, its Ronaldinho. But they asked me first, i was just unavailable!!

Seriously though its impressive. Not sure if its trickery though -its got to be i think. Impressive if not though!!

Rangers 1 - TNC 5

Rangers problems were shown again last night as they lost to TNC. Defensively sound, a lack of attacking nous as usual cost the Rangers.
With Mini, Hedderz and Dr H. out it was always going to be difficult to find that little bit of quality, however it was hoped that Lifey making another welcome appearance would help. Russ too was missing, with Nev coming in to replace him. That made a team of a newly engaged Belch in net, with Pie, Piggy, Shiz, Fist, Nev and Lifey doing the running.

The first half was a close affair, with TNC going in 2-1 up at half time. Piggy got the Rangers goal, after battling against two TNC defenders in the corner, he manged to fight through and slot the ball into the far corner, a good finish. Rangers were defending well, and when TNC did get past them, Belly made some excellent saves.

Second half was much of the same, with Rangers defending resolutely and TNC enjoying a lot of possession but not doing a lot with it really. Pie, Fist, Shiz and Piggy all came close for Rangers, and Belly continued to to excel in goal.

Eventually though Rangers lack of attacking options meant the ball never really stuck up the field, and TNC made the pressure count with 3 goals. Other memorable moments include an altercation between Lifey and Piggy, Lifey creaming one guy against the boards 3 times in quick succession, and a couple of comedy kick offs - one Piggy cleared over not just our pitch but the next two as well, and one Lifey chipped up for Nev to volley from well in his own half!!

So another defeat for Rangers, though the performance was there if not the attacking game. However it looks like Cheadle Utd are starting to have a change of fortunes, with a victory over Northern Canaries! We stay second bottom, and the best Cheadle Utd can do this season is get level on points with us, but its worrying for next season!

Final score: Rangers 1 TNC 5

Goals: Piggy (1)

This report was brought to you by http://www.pie5.co.uk. A more than able deputy...

Stats for this year

Well, in the absence of the Rascle opta index, i compiled the seasons stats so far. Based on each player i worked out how many games they played. How many goals they scored, and average per game. How many goals the team conceded in the games that player was in, and how many per game. It doesn't say much as to how we play. And obviously some players missed out on the 21 goal drubbing we received against white Russians. But it makes for interesting reading!
The stats include tonights loss. So 12 games played.

right click and download stats.txt


Rascle.

Bramhall Rangers Bond - certificate

Well we finally got the certificate for the Bramhall Rangers Bond.
I scanned it in and you can have a look HERE. Its a PDF file, so you need Adobe Acrobat reader to view it. You can download it and print off a copy if you like.

Thanks everyone again for helping County!

The Church Of Bramhall Rangers

Bramhall Rangers 6 Cheadle Utd Thursday 6

Goals galore, Rangers settle for a draw!!

Well maybe, not galore, but compared to recent weeks it was nice to see the net bulging in the Rangers favour on numerous occasions against Cheadle Utd. The team was somewhat makeshift with a couple of absentees. Dr Holland was still out with his achilles injury, Belly was touring Scotland, and Mini pulled on the keeper gloves and played through injury to allow Gregg (Rascle’s bro) who we were told would give us a really good attacking option (as he usually bagged 5-6 a game daan saaaf where he plays for a team) to play outfield. Hedderz returned for the early kick-off, Mr T, Shiz, Pie and Rascle making up the numbers. It was a relief to have a more attacking look to the side.

Rangers started tentatively, settling into their rhythm. They eventually took a two-goal lead, Hedderz slotting home after a rebound, taking time to steady himself before hitting the net. Piggy then grabbed a lovely goal, Mr T breaking down the left and chipping a ball to the edge of the area for Piggy to guide deftly into the top corner.

Defensively Rangers were good, but there was a considerable amount of time and space given to CUT’s most dangerous player who was a thorn in Rangers side all game. It seemed Rangers were going in at half time with a comfortable lead, Pie and Piggy grabbing goals either side of a CUT goal. However, the defence seemed to crumble, allowing CUT to score 3 goals in quick succession leading to a different spin on the HT discussions.

The second half was a low scoring game, only 2 goals each from each side. Much of the attacking was done by CUT and on occasions it seemed that it was only a matter of time before Rangers conceded defeat. However, despite going behind, a hugely deflected goal, which will be credited to Gregg, gave Ranger’s hope of a win. And when the lead was taken with only 5 minutes to go, a great finish by Piggy, the Rangers thought they had gotten out of jail!

As always though, BRFC were their own worst enemy, and with the last move of the game, indecisiveness on the edge of the Ranger’s area let CUT in for what, in all honesty, was probably a deserved equaliser.

Something to aim for next week would be to try and reinforce the positive and although not settle for poor play, not to dwell on it either. Far too much negative barracking from the touchlines only leads to indecisiveness on the field. Piggy was my pick of the players, some great finishing, good running and battling, which will give him a boost. He cemented his place at the top of the goal scoring charts with a well taken hat-trick. Lets try to praise the positive aspects of the game.

Final score: Rangers 6 Cheadle Utd Thursday 6
Goals: Pie (1), Gregg (1), Hedderz (1), Piggy (3)

This report was brought to you by http://minimanadventures.blogspot.com/. First for interesting things.

Bramhall RAngers 0 The Griswalds 5

4-3-2-1…the Rangers score…none!!!

It has become very apparent over recent weeks that the Rangers main problem when Hedderz and Mini aren’t available that they are short of goals. This has come to fruition in recent weeks and finally came to a head last night when for the first time either at Vida or Powerleague, Rangers failed to trouble the scorers against mid-tables The Griswalds.

The team was a very defensive minded one, with only one recognised attacking player, Piggy, in the squad. The other likely suspects were Pie, Shiz, Rascle, Mr T and Nev and ever-willing keeper Belly.

Mini and Dr Holland were long-term absences with injury and Hedderz had the old PE excuse or “I forgot my kit” J. With the best will in the world we were never going to trouble there defence but defensively the Rangers were quite solid.

The first half was either one of the tightest or one of the poorest you will be likely to see. I fact it is the former, with good defending by the Rangers and poor attacking by the Rangers keeping the score line low. At half time in was just 1-0 to The Griswalds the goal coming at the end of the half after a lapse in concentration from Piggy. All in all Piggy had a decent game ploughing the lone furrow up front but didn’t really get the service or space he needed to notch a goal. Also, it let Hedderz in, in the race for the “Tin Slipper”.

After HT it was a similar story, with few goals. Rangers did create one or two opportunities, shots easily saved or going wide from Shiz, Pie and Nev and Piggy too. Belly was not as busy as he had been in previous games, but The Griswalds did notch 4 more as the game went on and tired legs set in.

For work rate and commitment the Rangers couldn’t be faulted. Mr T and Nev were running all night. Shiz tried to create something out or nothing. Rascle was ever eager and communicating well. Pie tried to help Piggy and made a few half chances and Piggy did the best it the circumstances but will be frustrated not to get a goal.

Next week sees a bottom of the table clash with Cheadle Utd, and with current form, it really could go either way!

Final score: Rangers 0 The Griswalds 5
Goals: 0

This report was brought to you by http://minimanadventures.blogspot.com/. First for interesting things.

Look-A-Likes 6

Mr T (aka The Fist) and a Lego Man (the lego man is the one on the right in case you weren't sure...!).