ALCESTER TOWN 2-2 AFC COVENTRY RANGERS (4-3 ON PENALTIES...): THE INDEPENDENT MATCH RPEORT...

Relief For Romans As Gabriel Becomes Their Angel…

Alcester Town 2-2 AFC Coventry Rangers 

(4-3 in a penalty shootout…)

Newly moved up into Midland League 3, Rangers gave a really good showing at Stratford Road in this Charity Cup semi-final, taking Midland League 2 outfit Alcester to a penalty shootout after twice leading. Both missed penalties by the guests were taken by their central defenders and saved low by home goalie Gabriel Bajrami, who looked mightily relieved because his intercepted pass early in the tie had handed Rangers’ Connoll Farrell the first of his brace of goals. 

GREAT POSE BY DREW RICKETTS, AS CONNOLL FARRELL WONDERS WHETHER HE SHOULD HAVE NIPPED TO THE LOO BEFORE THE TOSS...

The opening period had been untidy, if well contested but with few goalscoring opportunities of note but Town scored near half-time from a free-kick, which was nodded home by central striker Ross Dempster. The free-kick was a punishment for shall we say an ‘unwise’ scything tackle by Rangers’ industrious midfielder Ryan Alexander, the third Ranger to be cautioned before the break. That brings me to what was disturbing about the match: the handling of it by the main official in particular, whose performance was regularly criticised by even non-partizan spectators on the touchlines.

KING: "I CAN DANCE..."
DOYLE: "I CAN SING..."

PERKINS ASKS POWELL: "DID YOU HAVE TO BE SO CRUEL, MY GOOD MAN?"

The yellow card brandished at Rangers’ skipper Jordan Powell was the first badly timed challenge of the game and if that was worth a booking, then so be it, but it became a precedent, especially as AFC forward Fola Fagbemi also saw yellow for a loose challenge. And then Alexander…

EARLY YELLOW FOR POWELL BUT PERHAPS A STIFF WORD MIGHT HAVE BEEN A BETTER PRECEDENT TO SET?

However, challenges were also mistimed by other players and to the dismay of the Rangers’ dugout contingent, a number of these were made by home players, but no other cards were shown during the opening period, highlighting the inconsistency of it all. Home skipper Drew Ricketts’ amusing misdemeanour was an impression of a New York Jets middle linebacker charging through a defensive line like a bull to flatten a running back. Rangers’ Toby Curren felt the full force of that assault but, er, not even a foul was signalled.

CAUTION FOR FAGBEMI...

...& FOR ALEXANDER...

After the break, the generally smiling home left-back Dom Perkins hauled down Powell, cynically and this incident was punished by a yellow card, although to temper the situation, the official also booked AFC’s Farrell for complaining about the challenge… Hmm…

Rangers’ Liam Kennedy, who would miss one of the penalties in the shootout was then sin-binned for complaining to the referee, right in the middle of the 45 and thus gifted Alcester the upper hand, which they failed to capitalise upon due to profligate finishing by the otherwise impressive Sam Fitzgerald and replacement Reece Jacobs, who also equalised Farrell’s second goal. 

2ND HALF WILL START, ONCE FAGBEMI HAS TREATED HIS SOCK MALFUNCTION...

An incident which might have involved an elbow on the Alcester goal-line was also ignored by the referee, even when the ‘injured party’ Fagbemi, displayed his forehead to the official, as Perkins loitered nearby, smiling…

Game-wise the ball spent a lot of time in the air and sometimes it bobbled on the hard summer surface, causing several of Ricketts’ clearances to resemble ‘up and under’ kicks of Rugby League fame. The guests were a goal up early as Farrell chased a long Liam Doyle pass and didn’t stop as Bajrami advanced to the 18 yard line to pass the ball to covering defender Matt Bailey. Sadly for the ‘keeper, Farrell stuck out a boot and intercepted, allowing him to run the ball into the net with ease. 0-1 and in truth, Alcester hadn’t started.

GOAL FOR RANGERS: 0-1...

Farrell also shot low and wide, Doyle fired high and wide and Fagbemi badly miscued a headed chance from a Farrell centre. The first of two moments involving the referee again then occurred, for a cross-shot from inside-right by Fagbemi clearly struck Joe Drake-Cervantes’ right forearm but despite virtually every spectator on the touchline nearby saying out loud: “Penalty…” The referee said: “Corner…” 

FARRELL: A SEMI-FINAL BRACE...

Then, in front of me, the ball deflected loudly off Bailey’s boot for a throw to Rangers, at which point the referee puzzlingly gave the throw to Alcester. My response on the video clip was clearly one of despair… And I was reporting independently. 

SIN-BIN FOR KENNEDY...

The hosts? Well, an angled delivery across goal by Toby Scott was dangerous and he was one of the most effective players on show. His effort stemmed from a superb diagonal pass by the creative Fitzgerald, whose running in possession was generally smooth and confident and Fitzgerald himself hit a free-kick into the side-netting, whilst a Karl Walker shot flew straight to visiting goalie Ross Davis. The only other chance invented by the hosts was their equaliser…

GARDNER ENQUIRES, THE REFEREE HAS NONE OF IT...

Alexander’s foul, leading to his caution, led to a clipped free-kick from the left edge of the penalty-box by the wily Scott and a flicked header by Dempster which bounced up past Davis into the Rangers net. Parity, just like that… 

1-1: DEMPSTER'S HEADER...

Certainly post-break the hosts pushed on, especially when Kennedy slumped off the pitch for ten minutes but Rangers’ ‘keeper Davis only had one shot to save, low from the well positioned Jacobs, following a Dempster assist. Jacobs had replaced the impish Kyle King who had actually been quiet until he made a tricky run after the interval and forced a deflection on his shot smart. Maybe he was going to be the danger from then on but at that point he was, er, substituted…

ALCESTER'S DUGOUT...

Fitzgerald shot way too high twice and once off target, Jacobs miscued one effort and shot too high later in the game, whilst Ricketts nodded a disputed free-kick-from downtown by Scott across the face of goal but Dempster couldn’t get to it. A short free-kick by Fitzgerald allowed Scott a shot from distance, which cannoned off the boot of Rangers’ Adam Finch and nudged against Dempster’s forehead on its way out of play.

RANGERS' DUGOUT...

The guests were less involved offensively, obviously but there was so little to choose between the teams in all honesty. Fagbemi couldn’t reach a low Doyle cross and then his header from Powell’s resulting centre was wayward, then Powell shot weakly at Bajrami and the hard working Doyle shot too high. However, Farrell did fasten onto Fagbemi’s flick from the right edge of the half-way line, sprinted clear centrally and beat the advancing Bajrami with a confident, neat, low shot. 1-2 and the hosts had it all to do again…

1-2: FARRELL IS IN THERE SOMEWHERE...

PERKINS CANNOT HIDE HIS TEARFUL EMOTIONS AS HIS SKIPPER IS TAKEN AWAY, INJURED...

Subsequently though, Rangers were too slow to check a short left-wing corner, substitute Connor Deards couldn’t reach the ensuing cross but the ball dropped kindly for Jacobs to smack in a left-booted first-timer from 10 yards to equalise. 

BAILEY'S FACE SEEMS TO SHOW PLEASURE IN THE SECOND EQUALISER...

No further scoring was imminent and penalties were utilised…

Farrell scored low for Rangers, Dempster equalised, Swain’s low spot-kick for AFC was stopped falling left by Bajrami, then Curran and Cervantes scored for their respective teams, as did Fagbemi and Deards but Bajrami plunged right to save Kennedy’s kick and the tie was over. Four out of four penalties by Town, so all good for them and the home goalie was duly leapt upon by all and sundry…

IF THIS IS A 100 METRE RACE, THEN THE REFEREE HASN'T GOT THE RUNNERS ON THEIR MARKS VERY TIDILY...

Ricketts had been escorted off the field after Farrell’s second goal but Drake-Cervantes and Lewis Clarke looked strong enough for the hosts in defence, whilst replacement Owen Ward was lively, combining with Scott and Fitzgerald well on occasions. Both number 8s had quietly effective games, Karl Walker for Town and Joe Gardner for Rangers, who did take a knock early on which might have affected his workrate slightly. All three replacements for Alcester played a vital part in the tie and Deards’ shootout spot-kick was integral to the victory…

FARRELL LOOKS SHOCKED THAT HE, AS WELL AS PERKINS, HAS BEEN CAUTIONED...

Finch and Curran really looked decent for Rangers and their spot-kicks and Kennedy’s ten-minute exile apart, the central defenders generally kept Dempster and company in check. Alexander played well for Rangers, Farrell took his goals smartly and Fagbemi contested Perkins in a physical set-to for 90 minutes. Now that was intriguing…

WALKER & POWELL...

SCOTT & ALEXANDER...

PERKINS & FAGBEMI...

Coventrians won the other semi-final in a shootout against the higher ranked Knowle FC, following a 0-0 draw and will contest the Final next week with the Romans at Hampton FC’s ground…

TEAMS:

ALCESTER TOWN:

GABRIEL BAJRAMI, DOM PERKINS, LEWIS CLARKE, DREW RICKETTS (CAPT), JOE DRAKE-CERVANTES, KYLE KING, KARL WALKER, ROSS DEMPSTER, SAM FITZGERALD, TOBY SCOTT.

SUBS:

HARRY JENNINGS, JACK RICKETTS, OWEN WARD, CONNOR DEARDS, REECE JACOBS.

AFC COVENTRY RANGERS:

ROSS DAVIS, ADAM FINCH, TOBY CURRAN, RYAN ALEXANDER, GEORGE SWAIN, LIAM KENNEDY, FOLA FAGBEMI, JOE GARDNER, CONNOLL FARRELL, JORDAN POWELL (CAPT), LIAM DOYLE.

SUBS:

AHMADI ABDOLKHALEGH, KAMIL DZIUDZEK, LUKE COMASKY, LAURENCE WOODRUFFE, CHRIS LAMPETT.