Bramhall Rangers 1 Rapid Tirers 15
"Players lose you games, not tactics. There's so much crap talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes." - Brian Clough (take note Piggy! ;) )
Sometimes in football you can be involved in one of those games which you will remember for the rest of your life. It happens all the way through football, from our level right up to Premiership, Europe and Internationally. As a Stockport County fan I have experienced this in the past – our promotion season in 96/97 was the best footballing experience I think I’ve had in my lifetime. And who wouldn’t have wanted to experience what Man Utd did when they came from behind in the dying minutes in 1999 against Bayern Munich to win the European Cup? Or be on the pitch when England went to Germany and beat them 5-1. Even Emile Heskey scored! Admittedly there has never been much for the Rangers to shout about. Would the game against Rapid Tirers prove to be a turning point and a night to remember?
Last time we met them it was a roasting hot Sunday evening, the evening after the night before when drunken debauchery and sunstroke decimated the Rangers ranks after Markstock. Yet the makeshift team that day battled and fought and came away with an unlucky 5-4 defeat.
It was always going to be tough though – Mini had only just flown back into the Country from his Eastern European scouting mission and was stuck somewhere down near London. Big Pete had somehow managed to pull his calf muscle during a mid-week strenuous training session, Hedderz had disappeared off again after his cameo last week, and first choice reserve Lifey was again mixing with the high flyers and unavailable. While the returning Nev brought some relief, it was clear there was a complete lack of striking know-how. Abrar was called on to bring a bit of Brazilian flair, and Stu made a return after 18 games. The rest of the team was made up of the remaining stalwarts – Mark in goal, Pie, Shiz, Russ and Nev. There was a brief hope at the beginning of the week when Belch suggested he might be able to make a return. He was having a check up on Tuesday, and was hoping the medical experts would suggest he should step up his exercises with his dodgy knee. He said if they gave him the go ahead he would consider coming along and maybe having a run out for 5-10 minutes at the end of the game, just to see how it went. It was not to be however as he was advised to sit out a little longer and attend a couple of physio sessions. But I think we are getting closer to Belch’s return!
A series of unfortunate events meant we arrived at Powerleague with only minutes to spare, and a lack of a football meant we were unable to properly warm up. A few quick stretches later and the game was underway.
I think the less said about the game the better to be honest. The Rangers were never really in it, and rarely threatened up front. The defending was fairly poor, even by Rangers standards. Tackling was at times weak, tracking at times non-existent. Rangers went in 5-0 down at half time, hardly having a sniff and generally a little disheartened. Rapid Tirers were generally fitter, quicker and more skillful. However there was a general feeling that while we would never be able to match them, we could (and should) be pushing them a little harder.
However the second half was perhaps even poorer. The Tirers got another 10 goals, generally from poor defending, although a couple came from incredibly tight angles and beat Fist at his near post, which is disappointing for any goalkeeper. To be fair Mark did his utmost to try and keep the score down, making a number of excellent saves and shouting commands from his area with authority. A pity the players in front of him couldn’t give a similarly commanding performance.
There wasn’t a huge amount to cheer for the Rangers at the other end either, though we did get a goal. Abrar managed to just fire a shot off as the defender closed him down, and it hit the inside of the defenders leg and diverted past the keeper. That was it though - a scrappy finish, and it pretty much summed up the Rangers game! Stu and Pie both came close in the second half with a shot each that rattled the cross bar, and there was a moment when it looked like Nev would break his goal watch when he popped up on the edge of the box with the ball at his feet. But under pressure from the defender he scooped it over the bar.
But it finished 15-1 to Rapid Tirers, and was certainly one to forget for the Rangers. Poor defending and a lack of anything up front were the main points to take away and try to improve for next game. Hopefully a more normal service will be resumed when the core first 7 get a run out next week against Monkhouse Gladbach.
Final score - Bramhall Rangers 1 Rapid Tirers 15
Goal – Abrar (1)
Nev goal watch - 37
Sometimes in football you can be involved in one of those games which you will remember for the rest of your life. It happens all the way through football, from our level right up to Premiership, Europe and Internationally. As a Stockport County fan I have experienced this in the past – our promotion season in 96/97 was the best footballing experience I think I’ve had in my lifetime. And who wouldn’t have wanted to experience what Man Utd did when they came from behind in the dying minutes in 1999 against Bayern Munich to win the European Cup? Or be on the pitch when England went to Germany and beat them 5-1. Even Emile Heskey scored! Admittedly there has never been much for the Rangers to shout about. Would the game against Rapid Tirers prove to be a turning point and a night to remember?
Last time we met them it was a roasting hot Sunday evening, the evening after the night before when drunken debauchery and sunstroke decimated the Rangers ranks after Markstock. Yet the makeshift team that day battled and fought and came away with an unlucky 5-4 defeat.
It was always going to be tough though – Mini had only just flown back into the Country from his Eastern European scouting mission and was stuck somewhere down near London. Big Pete had somehow managed to pull his calf muscle during a mid-week strenuous training session, Hedderz had disappeared off again after his cameo last week, and first choice reserve Lifey was again mixing with the high flyers and unavailable. While the returning Nev brought some relief, it was clear there was a complete lack of striking know-how. Abrar was called on to bring a bit of Brazilian flair, and Stu made a return after 18 games. The rest of the team was made up of the remaining stalwarts – Mark in goal, Pie, Shiz, Russ and Nev. There was a brief hope at the beginning of the week when Belch suggested he might be able to make a return. He was having a check up on Tuesday, and was hoping the medical experts would suggest he should step up his exercises with his dodgy knee. He said if they gave him the go ahead he would consider coming along and maybe having a run out for 5-10 minutes at the end of the game, just to see how it went. It was not to be however as he was advised to sit out a little longer and attend a couple of physio sessions. But I think we are getting closer to Belch’s return!
A series of unfortunate events meant we arrived at Powerleague with only minutes to spare, and a lack of a football meant we were unable to properly warm up. A few quick stretches later and the game was underway.
I think the less said about the game the better to be honest. The Rangers were never really in it, and rarely threatened up front. The defending was fairly poor, even by Rangers standards. Tackling was at times weak, tracking at times non-existent. Rangers went in 5-0 down at half time, hardly having a sniff and generally a little disheartened. Rapid Tirers were generally fitter, quicker and more skillful. However there was a general feeling that while we would never be able to match them, we could (and should) be pushing them a little harder.
However the second half was perhaps even poorer. The Tirers got another 10 goals, generally from poor defending, although a couple came from incredibly tight angles and beat Fist at his near post, which is disappointing for any goalkeeper. To be fair Mark did his utmost to try and keep the score down, making a number of excellent saves and shouting commands from his area with authority. A pity the players in front of him couldn’t give a similarly commanding performance.
There wasn’t a huge amount to cheer for the Rangers at the other end either, though we did get a goal. Abrar managed to just fire a shot off as the defender closed him down, and it hit the inside of the defenders leg and diverted past the keeper. That was it though - a scrappy finish, and it pretty much summed up the Rangers game! Stu and Pie both came close in the second half with a shot each that rattled the cross bar, and there was a moment when it looked like Nev would break his goal watch when he popped up on the edge of the box with the ball at his feet. But under pressure from the defender he scooped it over the bar.
But it finished 15-1 to Rapid Tirers, and was certainly one to forget for the Rangers. Poor defending and a lack of anything up front were the main points to take away and try to improve for next game. Hopefully a more normal service will be resumed when the core first 7 get a run out next week against Monkhouse Gladbach.
Final score - Bramhall Rangers 1 Rapid Tirers 15
Goal – Abrar (1)
Nev goal watch - 37
posted by Pie at 10:05 am
3 Comments:
Oh dear, it really was absymal this match. I don't think John did it justice to just how bad The Rangers really played, or maybe he didn't want to upset the kids with the gory details! The only positive was the consistency in nobody having a good game!?!?!
Fitness and subbing worsened the result. We conceded double in the second half as people struggled to track back on the turnovers (as in regaining goal side of the player your marking, running behind him isn't to much use). Suggestions for improving this are:
- more long distance exercise
- if fitness is not your strong point, perhaps pairing up with someone else who its not as well and having lots of short shifts with each other. So instead of having 4 long sessions on the pitch, you could have 8 short ones by the end of the game.
A quick thanks to Abrar and Stu. Abrar with his goal meant that at least we scored one and were saved from total embarresment, and Stu with running and movement like some duracell bunny showed what we should all be aiming for.
Don't worry folks! The Mini-man is back!! Bring it on!!!
PS. Shiz, never use the word "turnovers" again! This isn't bloody America!
:)
It's not usual for me to be the one looking at the good things we took away from that match! but here we are!!
We didnt play well. that was a given! The team were ALOT fitter and more skillful than us. We ended up dropping our heads and thats when we crumbled in the second half. We relied too heavily on abrar as a striker and he tended to take 1 or 2 too many touches before trying to shoot. Stu got into space and was looking for the pass but the rest of us seemed too lazy/short of energy to move for him.
Still, on the plus side Mark did well in goal. It was unlucky that some of the goals went in. Just tucking between the tiny gap between his feet and the post on his near post at times. There was some good man marking going on. It was mainly that RT were not in a rush to score goals. So once they'd run us around the pitch for a while they wait for someone to drop their man, and then use that space to get a shot in. It was disappointing not to score really. We were trying too hard to shoot, instead of realising that we weren't going to get too close to the goal and just hitting it. I think i had about 4 shots, half on target!
So basically we didnt totally collapse, just a case of a lack of attacking options and fitness. We really missed the mini/piggy combo of strikers that are happy to take on the team on their own. But that showed the lack of good strikers we have left when people are on holiday/ill. We ALL need to get fitness up! we're (i'm!) getting fat since the manchester run! So, exercise bike in front of hollyoaks for me! Not the best, but it'll do!
Still head up lads, not long til the end of the season. And we have the core/magnificent 7 back next week! So we can get back to conceeding under 10 again!
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