The youthful Gary Fowell Builders Plains Rangers side continued their steady improvement with a good showing in the local derby with Whakatane Town on Saturday.
Whakatane started with a hiss and a roar and gained the upper hand in the opening minutes on the Awakeri pitch. However, Rangers weathered the storm and started to play some good football themselves. The solid centre midfield pairing of Jason Pullar and James Mitchell created a good platform for the speedy Rangers front runners to work from. Rangers won a succession of corners, but with no result. Dylan Arthur went within an inch of scoring, his header hit the bar. At the other end Whakatane continued to create chances too, but wayward shooting was the outcome. An entertaining first half ended 0 - 0.
Early in the second half Rangers got the break through. Striker James Krause was put through the Whakatane defence and he slotted the ball well past keeper Paul Shakes. Bhima Wycherley had a shot from close range blocked on the line. Whakatane continued to waste their opportunities. However, with the game looking like going the home team's way, a well struck shot from a Whakatane midfielder sailed in from 25 metres. The game continued to be hard fought to the end. Both Gavin Rothwell and Jordan Ogilvy put headers just over for their respective teams. The final score, a 1 - 1 draw, was probably a fair result on the day.
Rangers coach Aaron Muggeridge was pleased with his team's performance and determination. He selected defender Kirk Bain as Rangers' player of the match, with other outstanding performances from Mitchell, Krause and Jono Whitaker.
This Saturday Rangers are at home again, with high flying Tauranga City United visiting. Kick-off at Awakeri will be at 2.30 pm.