Hall Road Rangers 3-2 Shirebrook Town

A debut goal from Bailey Smith earned Hall Road Rangers all three points on Tuesday night as they beat Shirebrook Town 3-2 at Haworth Park. Shirebrook made the better start to the game out of the two sides and took the lead in the 4th minute as Ash Grayson got on the end of a Josh Devereux corner and headed the ball home.

The visitors then produced a number of chances as they aimed to extend their lead. These included a couple of efforts that went over the bar and a defensive mix up between Rangers defender James Piercy and keeper Jody Barford that almost resulted in an own goal.

Rangers had to make an early change in the 16th minute when Barford went off after picking up an injury and was replaced by substitute keeper Haydn Withill. After the break in play, Hall Road showed a positive reaction and got themselves back on level terms in the 26th minute as Sam Robinson poked the ball into the back of the net. Robinson struck again in the 34th minute to give Rangers the lead.

The visitors equalised in the 48th minute through a low driven strike from Sam Allcock that nestled into the bottom corner. Once again, Hall Road showed their resilience and determination as they retook the lead in the 64th minute when Bailey Smith was on hand to calmly slot the ball home to get a goal on his debut. Sam Robinson came close to securing a hat trick in the 82nd minute when he fired a shot wide.

Long throws and set pieces were sent into the Rangers box time and time again as Shirebrook looked to get something from the game. However, the Hall Road defence stood firm and prevented the visitors from getting another goal.

Rangers joint-manager Dave Ricardo was happy to get some much-needed points on the board.

“First and foremost it’s three points. The best tonic you can have is to get those three points. I’m really pleased for the players more than anyone else. Myself and Leon made a couple of changes and everyone showed a collective attitude and great work rate.

We got a bit of luck at times. We played a lot better and looked composed. We had a lot more confidence and trust in each other when we had the ball” Ricardo said.

Report by: Oliver Harsley