Report: Rangers 0 v 3 Linthwaite Athletic

KDRAFC Media
Nov 8, 2021
3 min read

Three goals from Linthwaite Athletic knocked Rangers out of the County Challenge Cup, and in the end, Deighton can have few complaints about the outcome.

With Ash Tatler unavailable, Liam Dean was called up from the second team to spearhead the attack. Taylor Maxwell was also called up and joined both Roman Neal and Josh Barden on the bench.

It was the Huddersfield based side who enjoyed the early pressure and forced Deighton back. However, despite their dominance, with ten minutes played, all they had to show for it was a shot deflected behind by Ryan O'Donnell and a header that failed to trouble goalkeeper Jonty Smith.

With fourteen minutes on the clock, Rangers had their first shot after Conor Buckley forced Linthwaite's keeper to dive to his left and push the ball wide. From the resultant corner, the visitors counter-attacked but could only shoot wide.

Neither team seemed completely comfortable in attack, with long shots the preferred option. A nice bit of interplay between Josh Buckley and Dean set up Joe Turley, but his shot went a couple of feet over.

An adventurous move by Linthwaite saw them burst into Deighton's area, and a clever back-heeled pass saw Smith have to use his leg to divert the shot away from goal.

A good pass from Conor Buckley released O'Donnell, who curled in a cross which no blue shirt gambled on. However, a hurried clearance fell to Turley, but his shot sailed into the hedge behind the goal.

Rob Holliday and Turley were in the middle of any Rangers' moves, and as the latter tried to worm his way between two defenders, he went down under a challenge, but the official adjudged that no foul had taken place.

A mistimed tackle by Josh Buckley resulted in a yellow card for the defender and a free-kick in a dangerous position for Linthwaite. Thankfully for Deighton, they couldn't get it on target.

With the half coming to an end, both teams suddenly found some urgency, and Linthwaite had to divert two shots from Mason Sheridan-Hawley. Down at the other end, Athletic tried to float a shot over Smith, but he jumped high and clawed it away.

Half-Time: Rangers 0 v 0 Linthwaite Athletic.

Despite forcing their keeper to pull off a reflex save from his own defender, Rangers contrived to start the second half in the worst possible fashion by conceding the first goal after just two minutes. Clearing a Deighton corner, Linthwaite released their player on the right-wing, and his cross into the area was headed past Smith by the unmarked forward.

Looking to get back into the game straight away, Conor Buckley picked out O'Donnell, who controlled the ball well in the area, only to hear the referee's whistle indicating he had strayed offside. It was a decision that both O'Donnell and his teammates disagreed with, but the referee waved their remonstrations away.

The game suffered a loss of quality as a series of free-kicks due to unnecessary fouls occurred. However, neither team capitalised on these.

Deighton nearly equalised in the 61st minute when Dean's cross missed Little but found Conor Buckley. Shooting low, he forced the keeper into another diving save.

Two minutes later and it was Linthwaite celebrating as they doubled their lead. A ball through the middle saw Holliday try to poke it back to Smith, but the attacker managed to nip in and just did enough to steer his shot past the custodian and into the net.

Deighton were looking dangerous from set-pieces, and a Barden free-kick just avoided a stretching Dean.

Passing around the outskirts of Linthwaite's area, both Conor Buckley and Taylor Maxwell (who had replaced the injured Bollon) tried to find a way through but found themselves blocked by the visitor's defence.

Linthwaite put the game out of doubt in the 80th minute when a move down Deighton's left-wing broke down, and a diagonal pass picked out their number ten, who outsprinted the defence and slotted the ball past Smith, who had every right to feel aggrieved as he got his foot to the shot but couldn't keep it out.

Rangers were determined to score, but Roman Neal (who replaced Little) could only head wide from Barden's cross, and Turley's long-range shot also sailed over to cap off a miserable afternoon.

Full-Time: Rangers 0 v 3 Linthwaite Athletic

Squad.

Starting IX	Goal	Sub Time	Other
Smith
Murphy
Sheridan-Hawley
Buckley.J		54 min	Yellow Card
Bollon		63 min	Yellow Card
O'Donnell
Holliday
Little		70 min
Dean
Turley
Buckley.C
Substitutes
Neal		70 min
Maxwell		63 min
Barden		54 min