Bramhall Rangers 10 Northern Canaries 8
"There's no in between - you're either good or bad. We were in between." - Gary Lineker
The battles against Northern Canaries have become a highlight of the season for many of the Rangers, as they can often be a good marker for how the Rangers are progressing, or not, as the case may be. This meeting drew the curtain on a season of mixed emotion for the Rangers which saw them finish on their highest points tally since joining Powerleague, beating the 14 achieved in spring 2005.
Rascle was the only absentee, wisely choosing to sit out the final game before the Manchester Run, however, he did lend his support with Mr T’s flame Dawn, and the ever supportive Charlotte who our thanks should go out to. The Canaries were under-strength and had pulled in a ringer who we had come across before in a friendly against Stockport FC. No subs meant it was going to be the best opportunity Rangers had had for a long time to finally get one over on the Canaries.
Starting well, the Rangers crept into a two goal lead. Mini, whose shooting boots eluded him the week previous, was quick to register with a couple of decent finishes. However, there was never too much distance between the sides as the Canaries battled well and were never more than 2 goals behind. Some dubious marking allowed them in, despite Mr T’s best efforts; doing well to get behind the powerful efforts.
Mini crashed in one of his personal favourites of the season. A lay off from the centre from Pie after a Canaries goal, and Mini had more time than expected on the ball. Taking a touch to get it out of his feet then hammering a swerving, dipping right footer into the roof of the net from the half way line. Very pleasant!
Big Pete was able to register too, and Mini and him were linking up with much more success. Great awareness allowed Mini in for another after a squared ball from Big Pete. He got a goal himself, and was bleeding for the cause. A cut hand meant Big Pete had to have a brief foray into the blood bin, but he was soon back at the half time break and eager to get more goals.
IIRC it was 5-3 at half time, and Rangers were happy, but hoped to put a bit more daylight between them and the depleted yellows. The key was to be more clinical in front of goal and not become over confident. Rangers and Canaries traded goals at the start of the half, Big Pete amongst them for the Rangers picking up the loose balls after strong running from Shiz and good vision from Nev, with his trademark long passes. Still though, the two teams were close, and at one point the Canaries drew level at 8-8. A first goal for Anton will be a great memory for him though, and well deserved. Battling in the corner by the gate, Anton was able to dig out a cheeky left footer which squeezed in. Seemingly overcome with emotion not seen since the liberation of Auschwitz, Anton subbed off to be mobbed by the adoring fans!
Pie suffered a leg injury after a tangle of legs on the floor, and a heated exchange between him and Rascle on the touchline did nothing to help the Rangers, and everything to give the Canaries a boost. It was an embarrassing exchange.
Fortunately, Rangers didn’t suffer too much from the verbal tirade and were able to seal up the win. Pie added his 4th of the season with a strong run and finish on the left hand side and Mini pick-pocketed a yellow’s defender and finished calmly. Big Pete was able to seal his hat trick at the death too which was good to see - a strong performance from the striker. Shiz was unlucky not to register, however contributed to the game in many other ways, as did Nev who had a couple of decent efforts well saved by the keeper. Mr T communicated well throughout and the ball seemed drawn to him.
All in all it was a good performance and a deserved win. It means Rangers finish 3rd bottom which is better than average. Will it shape the way the awards will go? Only time will tell…
Final Score: Bramhall Rangers 10 Northern Canaries 8
Goals: Mini (5), Big Pete (3), Pie (1), Anton (1)
Nev goal watch - 27
Spring 2006 Summary
The news that Belly could be absent for a long period has been made easier to take with the emergence of Mr T as a very able deputy. Also, new depth was found in the squad with the last of the original Rangers Anton running out in the blue and white. A little more confidence on the ball and strength in the tackle will see Anton shine through as a very useful addition. And it would seem he has caught the Rangers bug!
Shiz has added an attacking element to his game that has not been seen in previous seasons, and Pie also has rediscovered his scoring form after a season of woe in front of goal last time out. Big Pete, despite a disappointing start to the season, finished with 15 goals equalling his tally of the summer 2005 season, but more importantly developed other areas of his game such as awareness and using his power.
Rascle, improving his fitness weekly has formed a strong partnership in front of Mr T with Nev, and is always looking for areas to better himself. A surprisingly good touch and calmness on the ball under pressure are a couple of his best assets. Nev himself has been a revelation this season. Although that goal drought will continue into summer 2006, it would be impossible to count the number of opportunities he has snuffed out at the other end which are equally if not more important. Always striving to play better and never content with mediocrity, Nev has been a stalwart this season.
Nev has now overtaken Hedderz in the all time appearances chart with his 30th game for the club, whilst despite playing 28 games less has seen Anton draw level with him in the scoring charts. Pie’s rediscovery of his attacking form in the last 4-5 games has meant he has put a little gap between him and Shiz, on 27 and 22 respectively.
Mini had a personal goal of beating the 39 goals scored in the spring 2005 season. Due to a couple of poor games this was not achievable and despite sensing a possibility of getting 9 in the final game, 5 goals meant it was to be his second best haul with 36.
The awards take place on Friday 26th May, and it will be interesting to see who is deemed worthy after this topsy-turvey season!
The battles against Northern Canaries have become a highlight of the season for many of the Rangers, as they can often be a good marker for how the Rangers are progressing, or not, as the case may be. This meeting drew the curtain on a season of mixed emotion for the Rangers which saw them finish on their highest points tally since joining Powerleague, beating the 14 achieved in spring 2005.
Rascle was the only absentee, wisely choosing to sit out the final game before the Manchester Run, however, he did lend his support with Mr T’s flame Dawn, and the ever supportive Charlotte who our thanks should go out to. The Canaries were under-strength and had pulled in a ringer who we had come across before in a friendly against Stockport FC. No subs meant it was going to be the best opportunity Rangers had had for a long time to finally get one over on the Canaries.
Starting well, the Rangers crept into a two goal lead. Mini, whose shooting boots eluded him the week previous, was quick to register with a couple of decent finishes. However, there was never too much distance between the sides as the Canaries battled well and were never more than 2 goals behind. Some dubious marking allowed them in, despite Mr T’s best efforts; doing well to get behind the powerful efforts.
Mini crashed in one of his personal favourites of the season. A lay off from the centre from Pie after a Canaries goal, and Mini had more time than expected on the ball. Taking a touch to get it out of his feet then hammering a swerving, dipping right footer into the roof of the net from the half way line. Very pleasant!
Big Pete was able to register too, and Mini and him were linking up with much more success. Great awareness allowed Mini in for another after a squared ball from Big Pete. He got a goal himself, and was bleeding for the cause. A cut hand meant Big Pete had to have a brief foray into the blood bin, but he was soon back at the half time break and eager to get more goals.
IIRC it was 5-3 at half time, and Rangers were happy, but hoped to put a bit more daylight between them and the depleted yellows. The key was to be more clinical in front of goal and not become over confident. Rangers and Canaries traded goals at the start of the half, Big Pete amongst them for the Rangers picking up the loose balls after strong running from Shiz and good vision from Nev, with his trademark long passes. Still though, the two teams were close, and at one point the Canaries drew level at 8-8. A first goal for Anton will be a great memory for him though, and well deserved. Battling in the corner by the gate, Anton was able to dig out a cheeky left footer which squeezed in. Seemingly overcome with emotion not seen since the liberation of Auschwitz, Anton subbed off to be mobbed by the adoring fans!
Pie suffered a leg injury after a tangle of legs on the floor, and a heated exchange between him and Rascle on the touchline did nothing to help the Rangers, and everything to give the Canaries a boost. It was an embarrassing exchange.
Fortunately, Rangers didn’t suffer too much from the verbal tirade and were able to seal up the win. Pie added his 4th of the season with a strong run and finish on the left hand side and Mini pick-pocketed a yellow’s defender and finished calmly. Big Pete was able to seal his hat trick at the death too which was good to see - a strong performance from the striker. Shiz was unlucky not to register, however contributed to the game in many other ways, as did Nev who had a couple of decent efforts well saved by the keeper. Mr T communicated well throughout and the ball seemed drawn to him.
All in all it was a good performance and a deserved win. It means Rangers finish 3rd bottom which is better than average. Will it shape the way the awards will go? Only time will tell…
Final Score: Bramhall Rangers 10 Northern Canaries 8
Goals: Mini (5), Big Pete (3), Pie (1), Anton (1)
Nev goal watch - 27
Spring 2006 Summary
The news that Belly could be absent for a long period has been made easier to take with the emergence of Mr T as a very able deputy. Also, new depth was found in the squad with the last of the original Rangers Anton running out in the blue and white. A little more confidence on the ball and strength in the tackle will see Anton shine through as a very useful addition. And it would seem he has caught the Rangers bug!
Shiz has added an attacking element to his game that has not been seen in previous seasons, and Pie also has rediscovered his scoring form after a season of woe in front of goal last time out. Big Pete, despite a disappointing start to the season, finished with 15 goals equalling his tally of the summer 2005 season, but more importantly developed other areas of his game such as awareness and using his power.
Rascle, improving his fitness weekly has formed a strong partnership in front of Mr T with Nev, and is always looking for areas to better himself. A surprisingly good touch and calmness on the ball under pressure are a couple of his best assets. Nev himself has been a revelation this season. Although that goal drought will continue into summer 2006, it would be impossible to count the number of opportunities he has snuffed out at the other end which are equally if not more important. Always striving to play better and never content with mediocrity, Nev has been a stalwart this season.
Nev has now overtaken Hedderz in the all time appearances chart with his 30th game for the club, whilst despite playing 28 games less has seen Anton draw level with him in the scoring charts. Pie’s rediscovery of his attacking form in the last 4-5 games has meant he has put a little gap between him and Shiz, on 27 and 22 respectively.
Mini had a personal goal of beating the 39 goals scored in the spring 2005 season. Due to a couple of poor games this was not achievable and despite sensing a possibility of getting 9 in the final game, 5 goals meant it was to be his second best haul with 36.
The awards take place on Friday 26th May, and it will be interesting to see who is deemed worthy after this topsy-turvey season!
posted by Mini at 10:33 am
10 Comments:
An excellent report as always. Apologies for my poor performance and stamina - I felt I couldn't get out of 2nd gear a sort of hurried-jog. For some reason my legs felt a bit like jelly the whole time (possibly because this was the first time I have run since May 1 - at powerleague last time) and I didn't seem to have any fuel in the tank. Anyway, scoring-wise it was nice to get off the mark quite early, even if it was a bit of a scrappy goal and nice to get a victory early in in my BRFC career.
Well played chaps, though the yellows were all laughing (and shouting "keep him on - he's fine!" when the slanging match between Pie and Rascle was taking place.
I was fine...as my goal proved!
You answered your critics well on this occasion (and I was one of them). I would argue more through luck than design though. If you'd ended up marking one of there pacey players you would have been left for dead whilst you hobbled after them, and given there was only one goal in it at the time, this match could easily have ended differently. If that situation was played 10 times, the other 9 you'd have probably been the cause of conceding a goal. The same goes for anyone. I expect people to sub off if they are on the ground long enough for the ref to halt play, after all it must be serious or else you'd be back on your feet trying to helps the team defend. It only needs to be a short sub if you find you can run it off. I'll happily to do short subs for injured players and come off as soon as they shout they are ready to come back on. Lets not let good fortune cloud a situation where the odds were against the decision taken.
Sorry pie but scoring a goal is NOT excuse for conceding MANY goals across the park. You were slow, uneager to chase balls, frustrated, stood there manipulating an injured foot, and generally were LESS of an asset on the pitch than a fit and raring to go shiz would've been had he not been stood on the sidelines screaming to come on. Admittedly i shouldn't have lost it with pie. But its starting to appear like we're getting the "hero's" of old creeping back in. Determined to run off fatigue and injury in the quest for a single goal, often at the expense of defensive duties.
I do wish i'd played. Me and Nev would've had that back door shut tighter than Piggy's Wallet. when we were only 6-4 up at half time, and people were talking about us needing to win by a good margin to help our league position, it was daft to see subs being wasted on the sideline. We NEED to get this sorted. I sub a lot. Granted, oft through fatigue, tho i can run a whole match. No-one likes being left on the sidelines. John was annoyed last week because he was off for over 12 minutes in one session. And yet when he WAS struggling (injured or not, you WERE struggling, that was there for all to see) he did the same and didnt allow people to come on. Although granted there were also lots of other players that could've subbed. Some people need reminding of this at times!
Anyway, that aside, it was a good performance. I'd like to point out there IS a difference between being REALISTIC and being PESSIMISTIC. We ONLY won by 2 goals against a team that was struggling and leaving acres of space. On another day, we would've been torn apart had they got 1 amazing player. As it was apart from NUMEROUS lapses at the back, (thank god for The Fist), we improved our attacking game. Its safe to say our defensive game, when we're firing on all cylinders, is tight as its gonna get, and most of us are happy with it. Strikers are rarely nervous now knowing Rascle, Nev and The Fist are all at the back like a wall. And defensively we're pushing up and trying to aid the strikers. The team is DEFINATELY stronger now than 14 weeks ago. Obvisouly a set team of 7 players has helped! We're all proud of our achievements this year. Many people scored more than before, some of us wont get much mention on a friday morning, but the hard work is done quietly on the pitch. The awards are gonna be good this year i feel!!
Oh, and mini, as good as the report is, i dont think i read that you TWATTED that guy to the ground! a highlight of the game for us fans in the stands!
And what a twat to the ground it was. In my mind it was the cleanest full on "How's ya Mama" physical tackle on an opposition player I saw all season. Made even better by the fact that the guy deserved it. A perfect example of how to react to a fouling git. David Beckham could learn a lot from this example.
Please Shiz, it was a Quomodo illa poma amatis challenge, in the true sense of the words!!
I was not struggling.
I needed a brief moment to run the knock off and then I was ok. I know my own body, know when I'm injured and know when I can quickly run something off. As I proved when we started the second half and I quickly subbed off as I was feeling something in my foot. Thankfully that passed quickly and I was able to continue playing when the next time came for subs.
Again for stuggling, it was pretty soon after the incident happened that I sprinted back from one corner to the opposite corner to WIN a tackle against one of the Canaries, then sprinted the length of the pitch to WIN another tackle on the edge of their area. Doesn't sound like a struggling player to me...
Incidentally despite my feelings on this subject I can see other peoples view points, especially Shiz who is very good at backing up his arguments. As a result if I get a knock in the future, whether or not I feel I can quickly run it off I will bring myself off.
However Russ, despite what you say about being realistic, you are a very negative guy. Whether its the Rangers, or England, or when you talk about United...
My own feelings on the game were that despite the scoreline I felt we did pretty well. I didn't think there were too many defensive lapses and generally the Canaries goals came from good shots more than anything else. Attacking-wise that was one of the better performances of the season - we passed and moved it going forward really well.
Defensively the main problem still is following the oppositions one-twos, this is something I know I have a problem with and am trying to improve. I think the main problem in our team is a lack of any real pace - I freely admit that I don't have much, and the same could be said about most players on our team I feel. We need to be concentrating all the time to be able to make up for this lack of speed.
Finally I would like to praise Piggy (sorry...Pigman) for his performance on Thursday. I know he feels I don't praise him, but I have always said if he puts in the performance I have absolutely no problem with giving him the credit he deserves. He was generally strong in the tackle, good with his tracking and much more sensible in attack. Hopefully he can bring this into next season!
Up the Rangers, up them in the ear!
we did well.
Granted they only had 5 players, but man for man they were better FOOTBALLERS than the majority on display for the Rangers, so it's no disgrace that we were pushed to the end.
Pie - you should sub off when you pick up an injury. It only takes a second to score a goal and for our heads to drop (happens so often that when we get a goal behind we struggle to get back). Agree with Shiz, more luck than judgement that we survived that.
Russ - you ARE the most negative man on or off the pitch. That exchange with Pie was the most embarrasing thing that has happened for a good few seasons, and you cant really complain if Pie whinges if you stoke the fire. The Canaries were laughing at you (and Pie) and I was embarrased to be associated with you (both).
Piggy - awesome game. Play like that every game next seaosn and you will get POTS or MIP.
And finally, the "Quomodo illa poma amatis challenge"...I DID IT AND IT FELT GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!
:)
Unfortunately it wasn't. They had an understrength team and brought in a ringer from another team.
He was all cock no balls if you get my drift, and a fouling numpty to boot.
Still, he got what was coming to him...
:)
LOL!
There are a couple on their team.
A bespectacled chap (his name escapes me) has also been on the receiving end of a Mini challenge that would make your mother cringe.
As Mr Shankly said: "Football isn't a matter of life and death...its more important than that."
:)
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