Report: Hunslet Club 1 v 4 Rangers

KDRAFC Media
Sep 5, 2021
4 min read

Updated: Sep 7, 2021

Rangers returned to winning ways with a blistering first-half performance that left Hunslet shell shocked!

Deighton were without regular goalkeepers Jonty Smith and Joe Palmer, so it was 16-year-old Kieran Arnett who made his first official appearance between the sticks, and the youngster didn’t disappoint, especially in the second half.

Advancing down the right-wing, the home side tried to break, but Mason Sheridan-Hawley blocked their route. Recycling the ball, Hunslet tried a looping shot that Arnett comfortably collected.

A counter-attack through the middle saw Jake Little hold his man at bay before passing to Josh Barden. Trying to find the run of Harvey Ribbons, Barden overhit the pass, and the ball rolled out for a goal kick.

The first shot for Deighton occurred in the 13th minute when Ashley Tatler burst through Hunslet defence but shot in the side netting.

Three minutes later, Roman Neal and Barden released Jake Little, and he made no mistake to give Rangers the lead.

Hunslet attacked but hurried into shooting by the combination of Sheridan-Hawley, and Like Dubery, the striker put the ball over the crossbar.

Rangers doubled their lead in the 29th minute following another quick counter that saw Barden and Tatler combine, and the latter waited for the keeper to commit before rolling his shot under him and into the net.

Hunslet were reduced to ten men after the referee sent their striker to the sin-bin for aiming a string of vulgar epithets at him.

A collision between Arnett and Dubery left the defender with a bloody nose, but the mixture put the Hunslet striker off, and he headed over from close range.

Another counter released Ribbons, and his teasing cross was thumped home by Neal, who looked incredulously at the linesman, who raised a very late flag to rule the goal out.

Rangers were forcing the play now, and Tatler rolled the ball into Conor Buckley’s path. Beating the goalkeeper, he watched as the ball hit the inside of the post and bounced out.

Neal made it 3-0 in the 40th minute after a Deighton throw-in was headed back into the area by Barden. Completely unmarked, Neal saw his original header blocked on the line, but his tenacity saw him go for a second header which fooled the keeper and went in.

Hunslet couldn’t live with Rangers’ movement, and every time the blue shirts poured forward, it looked like another goal would be forthcoming.

A rare attack by the home side ended when Arnett read the ball’s trajectory and snuffed out the danger with two green shirts lurking.

With thirty seconds remaining, Little scored his second of the game. Another quick pass from midfield released the striker, and although he scuffed his first shot, the ball bounced off a Hunslet defender right back into his path, and he lashed his shot past the bemused keeper.

Half-time: Hunslet Club 0 v 4 Kirk Deighton Rangers

As expected, Hunslet came out all guns blazing and forced a corner which was eventually dealt with when the shot was straight at Arnett.

Some good footwork saw Barden turn his man and drill the ball goalwards. However, the keeper’s foot deflected the shot back into the six-yard area, where it was cleared.

Hunslet burst into the area, but a one-on-one with Arnett saw the keeper pull off a good block before smothering the ball.

Rangers introduced their first substitute in the 51st minute when Jack Cheetham replaced the industrious Rob Holliday.

A superb tackle and run by Dubery set up Barden, but his curling shot was parried by the keeper and cleared by a defender.

Arnett was now the busier of the two keepers as Hunslet became more dominant. Coming down the right, the winger cut inside and unleashed a powerful shot that Arnett tipped over.

Rangers used a large slice of luck when an under-hit pass in defence saw a shot from just outside the area slam into the crossbar and bounce to safety.

Whereas Rangers showed how deadly they could be on the attack in the first half, the second period showed they could be resilient and hard to breach as Dubery, Buckley and Sheridan-Hawley all produced good tackles denying Hunslet.

Hunslet pulled back a goal in the 70th minute when a long ball found their left winger, who cut inside and beat Arnett with a powerful shot, despite the custodian getting his hands to the ball.

A foul outside Deighton’s area saw Arnett pull off a fantastic save as he dived full length to his left and hold onto the free-kick with green shirts looking for any spillage.

With Jack Holliday and Sid Abbott on the pitch, replacing Neal and Mike McCartney, who had put in another grafting performance in the engine room, Rangers looked to youth and speed to help close the game out.

It needed another good save from Arnett to maintain the three-goal cushion as he dived forward to cut out a cross before it reached an unmarked Hunslet player.

Little’s persistence nearly saw him complete his hat-trick as he chased down his own flick-on, but the keeper was quickly off his line to clear.

With the game in its final moments, Rangers became the prominent team again, and it needed a controversial offside call by the linesman to deny Sam Murphy, who had replaced Little, a chance to cross.

Full-Time: Hunslet Club 1 v 4 Kirk Deighton Rangers

Squad.