Report: Rangers 0 v 5 Headingley AFC

KDRAFC Media
Apr 17, 2022
3 min read

Good Friday turned into Rotten Saturday for Rangers as Headingley AFC completed the double, inflicting a comprehensive 5-0 defeat at Barr Field.

With ten players unavailable due to injury or previous engagements, Kieran Arnett, Connor Weal, Brad Spencer, James Woodward, Jack Abbott and Ben Lawrence were all drafted from the Second and Veterans teams to ensure that Deighton could field a side.

The match got off to a bad start when Deighton found themselves behind after four minutes after Abbott was adjudged to have brought down a visiting player inside the area. Despite several protests that he won the ball, the referee pointed to the spot, and Headingley dispatched the spot-kick.

Headingley looked to increase their lead, and a surging run down Deighton's right ended with a shot that cleared Arnett's crossbar by several feet.

The game descended into a maelstrom of poor passing for Deighton as they struggled to string several passes together, but Headingley, despite their dominance, couldn't make it count when they needed to.

Working the ball across the pitch, Weal evaded a challenge and took a shot that cannoned off a covering player before being scrambled to safety.

The post came to Deighton's rescue when a free-kick beat the wall and Arnett, but not the stanchion, and despite the rebound falling to Headingley, Arnett was able to smother the second shot.

Headingley doubled their lead in the 28th minute when a cross-field ball was played into the path of their striker, and he placed his shot beyond Arnett's reach.

With Deighton's passing still out of sorts, Headingley broke forward again, but Arnett saved to his right before Mike McCartney cleared the loose ball.

The game was realistically over as a contest in the 41st minute when Headingley intercepted a loose clearance outside Deighton's area and unleashed a shot that beat Arnett via the underside of the crossbar.

With the half moving into added time, Deighton fashioned two chances, with Roman Neal heavily involved. The first saw him get to the goal line, but his pass back into the area was cleared. Moments later, he latched onto Jake Little's pass, but his shot curled away from the far post, with Headingley's keeper unable to get there.

Half-Time: Kirk Deighton Rangers 0 v 3 Headingley AFC

The second half saw Rangers start in a more bullish mood, but again, the final pass was non-existent, and several promising moves quickly broke down.

A move that involved Arnett, Josh Barden and the industrious Jack Cheetham saw Neal beat Headingley's offside trap. Looking to slip the ball past the onrushing keeper, the custodian stuck out a leg and diverted the shot just wide. From the resultant corner, Spencer, who had replaced Woodward, shot over from the edge of the area.

Trying to regain control, Headingley pressured Deighton's defence, but Cheetham and Abbott combined to deny them a meaningful attack.

The visitors scored again in the 64th minute following a long pass over the top of Deighton's defence. Running onto the ball, the striker steered his shot past Arnett and into the goal.

In contrast to the first half, Rangers enjoyed some success down the wings, but the cross to Neal or Little was overhit, or the keeper collected well.

Spencer and Neal combined down the left-wing, and the latter produced a lovely flick over a defender, but the ball travelled to the keeper and Neal's frustrated groan summed up Rangers' mood.

The final goal arrived in the 74th minute, and there was a hint of offside as Headingley's striker raced clear before finding the net, with both Abbott and Arnett's pleas to the linesman brushed aside.

The final fifteen minutes saw both teams create but not able to finish. Headingley's custodian saved from Neal and Cheetham, and Arnett stopped a shot at his near post.

Full-Time: Kirk Deighton Rangers 0 v 5 Headingley AFC