Report: Rangers 3 v 2 Thackley AFC Reserves

KDRAFC Media
Jul 15, 2022
3 min read

A penalty in the final minutes by Captain Rob Holliday completed a comeback from two nil down and gave Rangers their first pre-season win against a good Thackley AFC Reserves side.

Following a tentative start, Deighton had the first attack when Javaughn Fenton turned nicely on the edge of the area but pulled his shot wide under pressure from the Thackley defence.

The visitors started to up the ante a little, and despite claiming for a foul on their left winger, play continued, and a nice change of direction saw their striker fire into the side netting.

Aiden Dubery and Fenton were linking up nicely, and the latter latched onto a neat reverse pass. Seeing an opportunity, he pulled the trigger, but his shot ended up the wrong side of the post.

A long goal kick by Kieran Arnett was flicked into the path of Andrew Slinger, who sprinted past Thackley's right-back, but his shot went over.

Both teams were making chances for themselves but getting the final shot on target was the problem, and the respective keepers spent move time catching crosses or retrieving the ball from behind their goals.

Thackley opened the scoring in the 35th minute when an attack down their right saw the striker hit a shot that Julian Williams tried to head clear but unfortunately deflected past the wrong-footed Arnett.

Two minutes later, the visitors scored again. Deighton's defence misjudged a long pass, and their striker ran through the middle before shooting past Arnett.

The second goal fired up Deighton, and they pulled one back straight from the restart when Stevie Delaney drove down the pitch and released Slinger, whose shot cannoned back off the post and into Sid Abbott's path, and he blasted past the keeper into the net.

The goal sparked Rangers, and Thackley found themselves forced back. Danny Wort released Mike McCartney, who in turn found Fenton, but his shot was saved by the keeper.

Fenton was in the thick of the action, and a Delaney free-kick saw the youngster stretch at the far post but could only poke his shot just wide.

Rangers pulled level in the 42nd minute when McCartney picked out Delaney, and he fired a long-distance shot into the bottom corner of the net.

With the half coming to an end, it needed Arnett to show his agility as he leapt backwards to puck a wickedly spinning shot out of the air before it looped into the goal.

Half-Time: Kirk Deighton Rangers 2 v 2 Thackley AFC Reserves

With twenty-two players at his disposal, Manager Kris Macdonald fielded a new side for the second half.

Thackley won a free-kick following a foul by James Woodward. Despite delivering a cross towards their striker, Luke Dubery rose highest to head clear.

The Holliday brothers combined well, and Jack cut in off the left wing. Taking a shot, he watched as a diving defender bravely blocked the ball.

Winning a tussle with Thackley's centre-back, Liam Dean burst into the area, but his shot was well turned aside by the keeper, who recovered well to claim it at the second attempt.

Moving play into Deighton's area, it took a dive at the striker's feet by Jonty Smith to remove the danger. Minutes later, the custodian watched as a header from a free-kick sailed wide of his goal.

The game became an even affair, with both teams showing some lovely build-up play. Like the first half, the effort was there, but the accuracy wasn't when it came to the final shot.

Jack Holliday came close again to giving Deighton the lead when he drifted away from his marker and fired in a shot at the back post. Not for the first time, the Thackley keeper showed great positional awareness to smoother the effort.

It needed a superb save from Smith to keep the scores level when the referee deemed Luke Dubery's back pass to him to be an intentional one. A well-struck shot saw the ball arcing towards the top corner until Smith leapt and turned it over the crossbar leaving Thackley cursing him!

Rangers were conceding a lot of unnecessary free-kicks around their area. Thankfully, the visitors couldn't take advantage of these, with most going wide of the goal.

Elliott Anderson was having a good game in midfield, and some clever passes saw Deighton push forward on several occasions.

Deighton claimed the winning goal when Max Bladen and Connor Weal combined just outside the area. Weal was tackled from behind, leaving the referee no choice but to award a penalty, and it was dispatched by Rob Holliday low to the keeper's left.

Anderson nearly put the cherry on the cake when his looping shot dipped over the keeper but hit the crossbar and was scrambled clear.

We wish Thackley AFC Reserves all the best for the forthcoming season.

Full-Time: Kirk Deighton Rangers 3 v 2 Thackley AFC Reserves