Match Report: Kirk Deighton Rangers 0 v 2 Boroughbridge AFC.

Rangers departed their final cup competition as they were beaten 2-0 by Premier Division side Boroughbridge. It was a contest that left the Barr Field outfit feeling extremely frustrated, as they controlled large periods of the game but were undone by two sucker punches.

Manager Dan Marshall was able to name Luke Dubery, John Large, Joe Wilks, James Woodward and Jack Holliday in the starting eleven, and Rob Holliday on the subs bench.

Rangers, looking resplendent in their new kits, started on the attack and a lovely ball to Josh Barden saw him twist and turn in the area, but his shot just cleared the crossbar.

The boys in blue were straight back in Boroughbridge's half when James Woodward dispossessed a defender and hit his shot straight at Liam Corbett in goal, spilling the original shot, the keeper gathered the ball with Jake Little closing him down.

Boroughbridge fashioned their first attempt in the 7th minute when they moved the ball down the left, and a long shot needed Jonty Smith to push it wide.

Little tested Corbett's reflexes when he ran into the area and shot from a tight angle. Unable to gather the ball cleanly, Corbett had to parry it to safety.

The visitors nearly took the lead in bizarre circumstances in the 12th minute. A pass back to Smith from Dubery was cleared against the defender and bounced back towards goal. Fortunately, Smith was able to dive backwards and push the ball clear from near the line.

James Woodward fires in a cross against Boroughbridge AFC.

Rangers were causing Boroughbridge issues, but the final shots weren't working Corbett as much as hoped, and the custodian collected the several balls without issue.

A Mason Sheridan-Hawley pass allowed Josh Barden to tee up his brother. Despite hitting the ball well, his shot whistled past the post with Corbett scrambling to get across his goal.

Woodward came close again in the 23rd minute when his thirty-yard shot forced Corbett to dive to his right to push the ball away.

Craig Hall was cautioned after fouling a Boroughbridge player. Soon after, a visiting defender was also shown the yellow card for a crude challenge on Jack Holliday.

The opening goal came in the 35th minute against the run of play. Defending a Rangers corner, Boroughbridge broke down the left and played across Deighton's area, and a lifted shot beat Smith to nestle in the net.

Rangers responded with a blistering run by Hall that saw him hit a low pass which was flicked goalwards by Little. Sticking out his foot, Corbett diverted the ball to Josh Barden who chipped it straight back, but the keeper recovered to palm the shot over the crossbar.

Corners seemed to be a likely route for Rangers to score and a low one by Wilks was met at the near post by Dubery, but he could only put his shot wide.

Half-Time: Kirk Deighton Rangers 0 v 1 Boroughbridge AFC

The second half started with Rangers pushing Boroughbridge back again. Woodward's dipping shot ended on top of the net, and Little's turn and shot was just wide of the goal.

Precise passing by Rangers saw Wilks find Josh Barden, slipping the ball into his brother's path, he screwed his shot wide, and it was cleared.

A flowing move down the left by the visitors saw them unleash a shot from the end of the area. Fortunately for Rangers, the ball smashed into the base of the stanchion and bounced clear.

Rangers made their first change of the match when Joe Turley replaced Holliday in the 54th minute.

Woodward was trying hard to equalise, and he was left with his head in his hands after his shot just went wide by centimetres after he collected the Josh Barden's pass.

Minutes later, a dangerous free-kick by Wilks dropped just the wrong side of the far post with Corbett unable to get there in time.

Jake Little takes on the Boroughbridge AFC defence.

An off the ball incident in the 65th minute saw Joe Barden dismissed from the pitch. Previously, the referee also had to stop play to warn the Boroughbridge management about their behaviour.

The sending off saw Rangers re-shuffle their pack with Rob Holliday replacing Sheridan-Hawley.

Taking advantage of their extra player, Boroughbridge moved forward, but their shot arced over Smith's crossbar.

Not heeding Mr Wood's original warning, the Boroughbridge official was also dismissed from the pitch after he said something to the referee while treating an injured player.

Boroughbridge doubled their lead in 72nd minute after confusion in the Rangers defence allowed the substitute to slip the ball under Smith, and into the goal.

Rangers made their final change in the 73rd minute as Chris Plews replaced the industrious Little.

The visitors had become more of an attacking threat, and another shot from distance crashed into the bushes behind Smith's goal.

Trying to get a foothold back into the game, Rob Holliday produced a mazy run down the left wing before picking out Hall at the far post. Despite getting his volley away, his aim was off, and the ball went past the post.

The match was alternating between the two areas, and Boroughbridge came close again in the 80th minute after a neat turn and lob went too high and bounced behind the goal.

Smith was called into action again as he blocked a shot before getting his legs in the way of the rebound and diverting it wide.

An injury saw Dubery leave the field of play for the final few minutes, and it was nearly the nine men of Rangers who scored when two Boroughbridge players threw themselves in front of Turley's low shot.

Despite being knocked out of all the cups, Rangers will take heart in this performance, and if they can replicate this in the league, they will be challenging for promotion at the end of the season.

Final-Score: Kirk Deighton Rangers 0 v 2 Boroughbridge AFC

Report by Pete Arnett.

Team: Smith, Hall, Sheridan-Hawley, Wilks (c), Large, Dubery, Barden.Joe, Woodward, Barden.Josh, Little, Holliday.J. Subs: Turley (Holliday 54), Holliday.R (Sheridan-Hawley 66), Plews (Little 73) Unused: Flynn.

Sin-Bin: Rangers (none), Boroughbridge AFC (none)

Yellow Cards: Rangers (Hall, Woodward), Boroughbridge AFC (1 player)

Red Cards: Rangers (Barden, Joe), Boroughbridge AFC (1 official)

Referee: Mr Colin Woods

Kirk Deighton Rangers Bennett & Fountain Man Of The Match: James Woodward & Joe Wilks.

Our Man of the Match award is kindly sponsored by:

Our Match Sponsor for this game was:

Hunters Estate & Letting Agents