Report: Rangers 1 v 3 Beeston St Anthonys

KDRAFC Media
Dec 5, 2021
3 min read

Beeston St Anthonys moved within touching distance of the top three with a 3-1 win at Barr Field, and, in all truth, Rangers can have no complaints after a lacklustre first-half, mixed in with some ring rust having not played for nearly a month, saw them struggle.

Within minutes of the game starting, the visitors swept down Deighton's left flank and won a corner that needed a strong punch from keeper Jonty Smith to clear.

A clever backheel from Josh Barden found Conor Buckley on the overlap. Fending off a challenge, he tried to pick out Roman Neal in the area but passed behind the striker at the crucial point.

With the game being played mainly in Deighton's half, it took strong tackles from Ryan O'Donnell and Luke Dubery to prevent Beeston from shooting.

Passing accuracy was an issue for both sides, with moves and counter moves quickly breaking down due to a lack of concentration when releasing the ball.

Despite not having an end product to show for all their play in Deighton's half, Beeston upped the tempo and delivered a devasting blow in the fifteenth minute when a pass into the area was well-controlled and quickly despatched past Smith to open the scoring.

With the visitors visibly pumped by the goal, they set about Deighton again, but this time Dubery came across and produced a last-ditch tackle to clear the danger.

Beeston doubled their lead after nineteen minutes. Deighton couldn't prevent them from progressing down the right-wing A pass into the area found their striker, and he sidestepped his marker before drilling a shot back across Smith and into the net via the post.

The linesman's raised flag spared Deighton further embarrassment in the 26th minute as another sweeping move was ruled offside.

With the blue shirts only able to muster the occasional foray into Beeston's area, mainly through set-pieces, it was frustrating to see the final ball being their undoing with many over hit and sailing off the field of play.

A flowing move involving Rob Holliday and Ash Tatler saw the ball fall to Mike McCartney to strike, but he couldn't get direction on his shot, and it crashed into the leaf-bare trees behind the goal.

The visitors were looking to put this game to bed before halftime, and another raid into Deighton's area saw their final shot cleared just short of the goal line with follow up shot claimed by Smith.

Half-Time: Rangers 0 v 2 Beeston St Anthonys

The words said during the break had an effect as Deighton launched a well-worked attack, with Tatler just unable to get to the final pass before the keeper.

Attacking down Deighton's left flank, Beeston moved into the area, but the flick over Smith was easily claimed by the custodian.

A series of free-kicks for both sides seemed the most likely way the next goal would arrive, but precision was the issue, and each ball failed to trouble the goalkeepers.

Deighton were awarded a penalty in the 57th minute after the referee had seen Dubery thrown to the floor. The official further angered Beeston when he sent one of their players to the sin-bin for remonstrating too much. After a slight delay, Tatler scored with a well-hit penalty right down the middle.

With Deighton controlling the game for the first time, another through ball sent Tatler chasing after it, but a combination of keeper and defender just reached it before he could.

Tatler was in position again to link onto another good pass, this time, he tried to pick out James Harrison (who had replaced Turley), but his pass was intercepted. Minutes later, Harrison found himself in a race against the keeper but watched as the custodian slid in front of him to claim the ball.

Beeston regained a foothold into the game and attacked through the middle of Deighton's defence. Just as it looked like a shot was incoming, Harvey Ribbons produced a tackle to stop the striker in his tracks.

The visitors won a free-kick just outside Deighton's area, but Smith deflected the first attempt and watched as the follow-up shot went wide.

The points were secured for Beeston with ten minutes left to play when a lovely spell of passing released their player on the left wing. Cutting into Deighton's area, he produced a sublime flick that cleared Smith and landed in the net.

Beeston produced some good game management in the closing minutes to frustrate Deighton, and apart from a teasing cross from Harrison, which the keeper claimed, there were no other chances for either team.

Full-Time: Rangers 1 v 3 Beeston St Anthonys