Match Preview - Ripon City

It's the start of our Whitworth Cup campaign on Saturday.

Rangers take a break from the league as they host West Yorkshire League Division Two side Ripon City in the First Round of the Harrogate & District FA Whitworth Cup on Saturday. Kick-off for this game is 2:30pm and it looks pretty decent, weather wise, with light cloud and a gentle breeze being forecast!

Dan Marshall’s team returned to winning ways last weekend with a 2-0 victory over Pool AFC, and it goes without saying that the Gaffer will want more of the same this coming match as well. Last season saw us bow out of this competition at this stage when we were beaten 3-1 by Boroughbridge AFC (Rob Holliday scoring for us).

The match against Ripon will not be an easy one for Rangers as they are well known in local football for being a resilient and difficult side to break down. At present, they reside in seventh place with a total of 11 points from a possible 18. As we know, league form counts for nothing in the cup, but at least it gives us some indication and a quick look at their away from shows an even keel with a mark in the win, draw and loss column. They have managed to score 6 times away from home (avg. 2.0 goals per game) but their weakness does seem to be at the other end where they have conceded 13 times (avg. 4.3 goals per game) hopefully this will continue on Saturday! A look at the FA stats shows that our defence will have to keep a close on Jordan Atkinson, who has five goals to his name already!

The ground will be open around 1pm and we hope Ripon City, their supporters and the match officials have a pleasant time whilst they are with us. Our clubhouse will be open and serving refreshments, both alcoholic and soft, all at a superb price.

Please come down and support local football and hopefully you will witness the start of a great cup run!