Preview - Oxenhope Recreation

It's the opening fixture of the new season on Saturday!

It’s here at last! The first game of our West Yorkshire League Division One adventure kicks off on Saturday at 2:30pm when we travel over to the Recreation Ground to play Oxenhope Recreation.

Looking ahead at the weather forecast for this match, it shows that we may well be treated to a multitude of elements including sun, cloud and light rain showers!

We have had a very positive pre-season and have a squad that is more than capable of challenging in this division, but a good start is vital, and it is an area that the Rangers management have targeted as a must as we look to kick on as a club.

In Oxenhope, we have an opponent who are a more than capable side and will certainly offer a stern test of our credentials. Former County Cup champions, they were relegated from the Premier Division at the end of the 16/17 season, they went through a period of readjustment and finished 9th in the first division. There is no doubt however that they will be wanting a much better season this time, and like many sides, will be eyeing a top three place at the end of the campaign.

At home last season, they had a pretty mixed bag of results with seven wins, two draws and five defeats. They managed to find the net an impressive 46 times (which was the 2nd highest of all the league) and that averages 3.3 goals per game, however this was slightly beset by a defence which conceded 38 (the 6th highest in the league) which works out at an average of 2.7 goals per game!

Little is known about Oxenhope’s pre-season form as results have been difficult to come by, but if they still have Daniel Moriarty in their ranks, they have a natural goalscorer who is always a threat. However, saying that, even he had to be impressed with teammate Lee Reilly, who finished in 6th place in the goalscoring charts with 18 goals last season.

The referee for this match will be Mr Vincent Gelder.

Should you wish to come to this game, the address you will need is The Recreation Ground, Hebden Bridge Road, Oxenhope, BD22 9LP