Rossington Main 5-1 Hall Road Rangers

Hall Road Rangers endured a very difficult afternoon on Saturday as they lost 5-1 at Rossington Main. Rangers made a good start to the game as they created an opportunity inside the first minute. This was an effort from Danny Norton that went just wide. There was goalmouth action at the other end of the pitch a few minutes later. Danny Deakin produced a chipped effort which came back off the bar.

The hosts took the lead in the 29th minute through an effort from Jack Watson which flicked off the post and found its way into the back of the net. Danny Norton came close to equalising for Hall Road a couple of minutes later as his effort was saved by Rossington keeper Kian Johnson. Meanwhile, the hosts squandered a great chance to double their lead in the 34th minute when Paul Sherburn’s effort went over the bar.

The early stages of the second half saw both sides have opportunities. Conner Williamson sent a header over the bar for Rossington in the 47th minute. An opportunity fell to Rangers in the 57th minute when Chris Murray had a free header which he put over the bar. Rossington doubled their lead in the 63rd minute through Jack Watson’s second goal of the game. This lead was then extended in the 69th minute courtesy of Bailey Conway’s strike which left Jody Barford helpless in the Rangers goal to prevent it from going in.

Hall Road pulled a goal back in the 71st minute as Alex Knaggs made it three goals in three successive league games as his flicked back heel made it over the line. Watson subsequently made it 4-1 and bagged his hat trick in the 76th minute as he pounced on a loose attempted save by Jody Barford and tucked the ball home. Rossington got their fifth goal in the 83rd minute thanks to a header from Josh Yeaman.

Rangers boss Leon Sewell was disappointed with both the result and his side’s performance. “We probably played for half of the first half and half of the second half. In the half that we didn’t play in the first half and more so in the second half, Rossington put us to the sword and ultimately punished us. They were ruthless and are a good side so you can’t take that away from them. What was really disappointing was how they punished us and hit us on the counter.

It was through us being too naïve and too soft. Everyone knows that goals win games and we don’t seem to be able to get the ball over the white line at the moment which is concerning. At the same time, we don’t seem to be able to keep the ball out of our goal which is a massive concern. It’s a tough one to accept really” Sewell said

Report by: Oliver Harsley