Clipstone 2-3 Hall Road Rangers

A brilliant second-half comeback from Hall Road Rangers earned them three points as they won 2-3 at Clipstone FC on Tuesday night.

It wasn’t a good start to the game from a Rangers perspective as they conceded in the 7th minute. A short free-kick routine led to Joe Massey smashing the ball into the top corner of the net. There was a reaction from Hall Road after this early setback as they began to exert some pressure on the Clipstone defence. This eventually led to an equalising goal in the 22nd minute as Alex Knaggs was on hand to secure his 1st goal of the season.

The momentum seemingly continued to be with Rangers for the next few minutes as they came close to taking the lead. One notable chance arrived in the 36th minute when Rich Medcalf blazed his effort over the bar. Clipstone restored their lead in the 37th minute courtesy of a goal from Jack Warwick as he tapped the ball home.

The early stages of the second half saw the hosts nearly extend their lead as they were denied by a good save from Rangers keeper Jody Barford. After this, Rangers established a hold on the game and possessed a strong attacking threat. They came close to getting back on level terms in the 58th minute as substitute Dave Harrison put his effort just wide of the Clipstone goal. However, Hall Road got their second equaliser of the game in the 60th minute thanks to Lewis Andrew’s 2nd league goal of the campaign as his deflected effort looped into the back of the net.

The remainder of the game consisted of Rangers pushing for a winning goal. Chris Murray had a shot saved by Clipstone keeper Sam Ogden in the 78th minute whilst James Piercy put a header over the bar in the 84th minute. It was in the 87th minute when Hall Road completed their comeback and got a winning goal. This came from a cross into the Clipstone box which was turned into his own net by Connor Wright. The scoreline could have been even more comfortable as Rich Medcalf had a late effort saved by Sam Ogden.

Rangers boss Leon Sewell was pleased to pick up all three points.

“It was an equal battle in the first half. In the second half, we controlled the game. We looked solid defensively and when we were attacking I thought we looked really bright. I thought the couple of changes that we made with Robbo and Dave Harrison coming on brought a lot of life to us so that’s a positive. We did what was needed in this game. We’ve come away from home to a tough place to go and we’ve finished the month with a victory” he said.

Report by: Oliver Harsley