"We Gave Ourselves Too Much To Do"

A second half fightback wasn't enough to stop the 1sts slipping to a home defeat to local rivals FC Barometrics. The game finished 3-2 but will go down as another game in which Rangers will feel they should have got more.

Barro's took the lead thanks to a very soft penalty awarded for a nudge in the back against Kit Hands. Already it was clear to see Rangers were up against it. The defecit was doubled not long after as a Moreton Throw in went terribly wrong and ended up with a tap in for the Barros striker. A 15 minute spell of madness and mistakes had left a mountain to climb. The home side did settle into the game midway through the first half and Paul Whitehouse, Robbie Hands and Lewis Fathers started to take control of the midfield. Dave Groom was marshalling Barro's 7ft striker and belief that the game wasn't over was starting to spread. The breakthrough then came after a quick counter attack saw Will Beach run the length of the pitch and dance his way into the away team's 6 yard box. He showed great composure to find Shaun Stanley and present him with a tap in. 2-1.

The joy was short lived though as 5 minutes before the break a free kick on the edge of Rangers box was blocked but the follow up cross come shot managed to swirl its way beyond John McAteer and into the top corner. Once again Moreton had a 2 goal deficit to claw back. The second half saw complete dominance from the home side, Half time substitution Sam Tyack was introduced in the place of the injured Kit Hands and saw lots of the ball along with Fathers, Lee Brooks and Paul Whitehouse. Short sharp interchanges were able to unlock the Barros defence on numerous occasions but the final ball was lacking. Harry Peters was another 2nd half subsititution who was able to get in behind and put crosses into the Barro's box. Rangers dominance eventually told when another fine assist from Will Beach set Shaun Stanley up for his second of the game. Will's ball was inch perfect in behind the left back and Stanley's finish was equally as good. More chances came and went in the last 20 minutes of the game but unfortunately no equaliser. Barometrics hadn't lost this year and had only conceded 2 goals so had Rangers not gifted them 3 goals it could have been a different story. We were able to grab caretaker manager Nicky Timms after the game for his thoughts:

Nick, you must be devastated with that result. How would you sum the game up today?

"It is really hard to take as for most of the game we were the better side. We looked sharper, fitter and better on the ball than they did but we simply gave ourselves too much to do. At this level you can't give sides a head start and we were punished for that."

What did you say at half time? The second half performance must have pleased you?

"I just told the lads to go and win the second half. With the players we had in the squad today we were more than capable of scoring goals and on another day we win the game 4 or 5 - 3. The second half showed that we can get the ball down and play against anyone and we will continue to play that way"

Reports are coming through that David Toon has scored the reserves today. Any thoughts from you on this?

*Laughs (Alot!) "Unbelievable stuff from the Toon. Provided of course that this is true."

Frustration all round in the Rangers camp! Dave Groom took to twitter to vent his frustration and thank the fans for their support.