SLH Contracting Plains Rangers were at home to Whakatane Town reserves on Saturday in the Bay Sports Centre Bowl. Both teams had to juggle their line ups because of the Bowl rules and availability of personnel.
Rangers started off very well, playing composed possession football and hardly allowing their visitors a touch. After ten minutes a bad bounce made life difficult for the Whakatane keeper and Rangers' striker Jordan Ogilvy raced in to put the ball in the net. Two minutes later Husnul Gray had an excellent volley well saved by the visiting keeper. Later in the half the game evened up a bit in terms of possession, but five minutes before the break Ogilvy had the ball in the net again, only to be called back for offside. At half time the score was 1 – 0 to Rangers.
In the second half Rangers were not able to play with such sustained periods of control, which gave Whakatane a few chances to get back into the game. Midway through the half they too had the ball in the net, but the offside flag was up. The score remained 1 – 0 through to the end, with Rangers deciding to shut up shop with ten minutes to go.
Jason Pullar's calmness in defence earned him player of the day for Rangers. Others to impress were Petir Gray, Kirk Bain and unflappable keeper Christian Wetting. The win puts Rangers through to the semi-final against Papamoa on the 21st of July.
On Sunday Plains Rangers women were at home to Te Puke. Te Puke controlled the territory well, not allowing Rangers many break outs. By half time, Te Puke were 4 – 0 up. However, a good defensive effort by Rangers in the second half saw them gain no further goals. Rangers created a few chances, to Jenny McIntyre, Gemma Stuckey and Cassidy Spillman, but none went in. The score remained at 4 – 0. Ranee Whiting was player of the day for Rangers, with Laura Powick outstanding in defence.

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