This was the first ever competitive Derby between our two teams with the only other match a few years ago in a friendly which we won.
So to Dairyhall for a 9.30am kick off & a full squad to choose from withMatthew Guest back at centre back after his one match suspension, Jack Patterson back up front after missing last match due to illness and CaptainReece Atkinson flew in from Tenerife early ours of the morning looking forward to Captaining his team for the first time.
The first half saw a very good battle in midfield between the to teams and chances were few and far between as both teams defences were on there game. The closest we came to scoring was when Ryan Hannah saw his acrobatic bicycle kick go just over the crossbar. Joel Hill picked up a yellow card in the 29th minute for a tackle that seemed to be a bit harsh as he clearly played the ball.
HALF TIME: 0.0
The second half got underway and the boys were on the attack right away putting pressure on the rangers defence. Six minutes in and Edward Muldrew saw his effort hit the crossbar, Then came the sucker push when Joel Hill saw yellow again for only his first challenge that again seemed soft, with two yellows he was off and we were down to 10 men with still 28 mins still to play. All credit to the boys they could have gave up but they didn't as Rangers were not a threat up front i decided to leave it as it was and play with a back three and Brandon McFerran, Matthew Guest &Jordan Mulholland coped with everything Rangers threw at them, also when called upon Jai Sykes in goals was there when needed. We seemed to play even better with the 10 men and it was the Rangers goalkeeper who prevented us from winning the game as he pulled of some exceptional saves to keep them in it to grab a point.
FULL TIME: 0.0
MANAGERS COMMENTS:
Well done boys good commitment shown especially when we went down to ten men very unlucky not to come away with all three points.
Everyone needs to attend training as there is still a few fitness problems to be sorted out.
