Fife One Of Six Postponements This Weekend
Fife’s fixture against Rainhill Town has been postponed this weekend along with all other five scheduled fixtures in the Premier League.
The postponement means Rangers have a week off to prepare for their bottom of the table clash away to Cronton Villa in what will be a huge game for the club as they look to beat the drop.
A victory against Cronton would put Rangers just two points behind their opponents with seven more games left to play in the season.
The blues preparations start on Wednesday in training where manager Andy Fannon will be keen to get his tactics right ahead of the trip to Villa.
Cronton Villa v Fife Rangers – 30/3/13 – Kick Off: 15:00 – Birchfield Sports & Social Club #1
By Danny Walsh.
Rainhill Town 3 – 2 Fife Rangers
Fife failed to pick up the points they deserved following a tough away defeat to Rainhill earlier today.
Rangers looked in good form against the side sitting in third but it was the home team who took the lead from a corner when Elliot (6) headed home.
Padget (11) soon equalised for the blues following a neat one-two with Rose before the game then turned ugly.
The rivalry between the two sides got the better of them and Farrell was dismissed in the 23rd minute following his second bookable offence for dissent.
This left the away side an uphill task to get anything from the game but when Rangers took the lead through Rose (33) the team had a means for something to hold onto.
But the home side took full advantage of their ten-man opponents equalising through Pearson’s (43) sublime header.
Into the second half Town made the away team chase the game with inferior numbers and the winner came when Ryder (73) was brought down in the box and cooly converted the spot-kick himself.
The result still leaves Fife rooted to the foot of the table as they continue to look for their first points of the season.
By Danny Walsh.
Tough Away Battle Awaits Rangers
Fife’s fight to avoid the drop this season looks a mammoth task as this weekends fixture sees them visit high flying Rainhill Town.
Rainhill are one of the favourites to go on to win the Premier Division this season winning seven of their nine games played. They have six games in hand on top of the table Runcorn Albion but remain 16 points behind them.
As for Rangers, it has been a very difficult season and are still to register a point and with just nine games remaining in the season, it is becoming more of a rebuilding process for the start of next season now as they are ten points from safety.
Last week’s cup defeat to Avon Athletic was a real blow as it was a good chance to have a go at getting some silverware but as the manager Dave Fannon pointed out, the performance was well below standard for such an important game.
But looking past the disappointing performance last week, there was a lot of encouragement from the previous weeks, so if they can find anything like the form they were in and show full concentration for the full 90 minutes then they are sure to put up a stern test to Rainhill.
Fannon has a full strength squad to pick from, with the return of Luke Neary after a shoulder problem kept him out of the cup tie last week bolsters the striking options for Rangers.
By Danny Burthem
Fannon Urges Rangers To Put Cup Shock Behind Them
Fife manager Andy Fannon wants to get the cup defeat out of the players heads as they turn their attention to the league this Saturday.
Fannon needs to rally his team as they face a tough test in the league away at third placed Rainhill Town.
Rainhill have only lost two games this season and Fannon knows that the games are not getting easier as Fife enter the last stages of the season.
“Rainhill away is a fixture at the start of the season were you will take anything away from the game, but in the position we are in now, we need to pick up maximum points who ever we play.”
“Last week was a major disappointment for myself and the lads, but we need to move on and do it fast.” he said.
Fannon, 44, knows every point counts at this stage in the season and its up to himself to come up with the right team and game play to overcome Rainhill.
“Its important to get the players to training and talk about what happened against Avon, then completely forget about it and get into how we are going to overcome Rainhill.”
“We all know Rainhill score a lot of goals, so it is important that we frustrate them and not give away anything cheap, so they will get their tails up early doors. It is massive that we start well in the game.” he added.
By Andy Brown
Rose Rallies In Jubliee Cup
Tony Rose stood out like a sore thumb in Fife’s 3-1 home defeat to Avon Athletic on Saturday in the Jubilee Cup.
Rose, 26, was the only player who really got going and was a threat in the game at Crab Lane, as Ranger’s last chance for silverware went out of the window.
“It was the last chance to have a day out at the end of the season if we could of reached the final and it would take our minds off the disappointing league season, but it was a case of turning up thinking we had won the game before we had.” he said
“We thought just because Avon are in the league below that we were already in the next round and that is a massive error in any level of football” Rose added.
Despite the disappointment Rose knows the most important thing is to stay in the league and they must get the defeat out of their systems and move on to Saturday, when they face third placed Rainhill.
“We need to move on from this quickly and focus on the game against Rainhill on Saturday and pick up our first points of the season. Its tight at the bottom and its vital we pick up a win on Saturday.” He said.
“We know its going to be a tough game, Rainhill have had a good season and are a strong outfit, but we will be sure to give it our best.”
By Andy Brown
Fife Rangers 1 – 3 Avon Athletic
Rangers failed to continue their cup run this weekend following a home defeat at the hands to division one side Avon.
The royal blues never really got going in the game and will now focus their season on keeping themselves in the Premier League.
The home side fell behind in the 11th minute with Avon striker Chris Morris’ neat turn and shot finding the bottom left hand corner.
Fife nearly got themselves straight back into the game but Lander’s long range effort cannoned off the post.
And the away side took full advantage by doubling their lead in the 25th minute when a neat one-two sent O’Grady through on goal and the midfielder neatly obliged in slotting the ball home.
Fife gave themselves a glimmer of hope just before half-time with Padget scoring from close range following a goal mouth scrap.
But within ten minutes of the restart, Avon capitalised on some slack defending to restore their two goal cushion with Savage coolly converting.
Rangers tried their best to get themselves back into the game with Fannon bringing Edward and Callon into the frame as they pushed to send the game into extra time.
But the fight was to no avail and defeat means Fife can now focus the rest of the season on picking up their league form and avoiding relegation.
By Danny Walsh.
Fife Rangers v Avon Athletic: Preview
Fife look to end their dismal run of form this weekend by continuing their cup run against division 1 side Avon Athletic.
Rangers haven’t won a league game all season, but a victory in the cup against lower league opposition could spark the confidence they need to stay in the Premier League.
The away side currently sit in eighth position in their respective league having won their last fixture 0-3 against Winick.
But the royal blues are in a superior league to their opposition and will go into the game hot favourites as they look to progress into the next stage of the Jubilee Cup.
Manager Andy Fannon has a near full strength squad to choose from despite Denzel Edward and Christopher Nasse being cup tied.
He said: “I’m really looking forward to the game and hoping that we can get the right result that will take our season forward.”
Fife Rangers v Avon Athletic, 9/3/2013, Kick off: 14:30pm, Crab Lane #2.
By Danny Walsh.
Fannon: Neary Could Be The Difference
Andy Fannon believes Thomas Neary’s recent form could be the difference towards keeping the team in the Premier League this season.
The 22 year-old followed up his fine display against Runcorn Albion in mid-week with a goal and an assist in the weekends narrow defeat to Beeches.
Fannon has been thrilled with Neary’s performances of late but believes there is much more to come from the striker.
He said: “He had a great season last season and he has just started to pick up that form from last year and we hope its come at the right time in our push for survival.
“He scored one and assisted one against Beeches at the weekend and was very impressive despite the defeat.
“We’re hoping he can now carry that form on to the end of the season and hopefully his goals can help us get some points on the board and get out of the relegation zone, he could certainly be the difference.”
Meanwhile, Fannon was also keen to appreciate the performance of recently signed Nathan Walker who had an equally impressive display at the weekend.
The young University of Chester student has only made three appearances for Rangers, but has shown his capabilities in all three.
“He was brilliant, I couldn’t have asked for any more from the lad,” said Fannon.
“His defending was excellent and his attacking presence is getting better every week, he was a great influence on the side.”
By Danny Walsh.
Padget Stars In Defeat
Fife’s Leon Padget was the star in the home defeat at the hands of Beeches at the weekend.
Padget, 23, was voted man of the match by the Beeches team after Saturday’s 4-3 loss.
The left midfielder was a constant threat and had numerous chances to score, but did however set two of the Rangers goals up.
Padget said: “It was nice to get man of the match, but at the end of the day the result is the most important part in the game adn we failed to do so.
“It is vital that we move on to the next game and pick up points or we will be playing next year in division three and that’s what none of us want.” he added.
Padget also feels the team is looking good going forward, but improvements need to be made when it comes to keeping clean sheets.
“We don’t seem to have problems scoring goals, we have a constant threat when we go forward, but we need to be able to shut teams out. Not just the defence, but we defend as a team and we haven’t been doing that of late.” He said.
By Andy Brown
Fife Rangers 3 – 4 Beeches
It was another day of heartbreak for Fife Rangers as they again let a two goal lead slip from their grasp against Beeches FC, and still remain without a point to their name this season in the Warrington Premier League Division.
Despite a positive start to the game Fife found themselves 1-0 down after 15 minutes gone after the impressive Beeches striker Christopher Davidson cooly finished past keeper Scott Cameron. After this goal went in, Rangers seemed to raise their game and it was in the 31st minute that the increasing pressure on the Beeches goal paid off. Thomas Neary picked the ball up on the right hand side of the penalty area and whipped in a right foot cross that found the head of Samuel Morris at the back post.
This sent confidence right through the heart of the Rangers side and you could see what a lift this equaliser had give them. Just one minute later, Thomas Neary picked up the ball on the edge of the penalty area and hit a shot that left the Beeches keeper David Hunter with no chance as it went into his top right hand corner. The Beeches side seemed to be on ther back foot and arguing with referee Andrew Budernberg wasn’t helping their case. In the 37th minute it was Rangers who stretched their lead with star man of the first half Morris going on a mazy run past two defenders and setting up Brad Wilkinson to make it 3-1.
A cruel blow was to come though, when just on half-time Beeches clawed their way back into the game just when the home side were looking so comfortable. It was noted before the game that if they could keep Beeches top scorer Davidson out of the game then they would be a lot closer to gaining all three points. However, this wasn’t the case as he found himself free on goal after a decisive through ball from captain Phil Mousdell and he made sure he wasnt going to miss to make the score 3-2 at half time with all to play for in the second half.
It was a solid start for the home side, keeping it very safe at the back and containing any attacks that the away side through at them. In the 55th minute they came so close to again extending their lead with Morris firing a shot just inches wide of the post.
Beeches began to up the intensity of their play after this, and it was in the 76th minute that Mousdell produced a captain’s goal, when he made a surging run to get on the end of a cross by Craig Cardwell.
Rangers manager Fannon seemed to be happy with a point as he tried to tighten things up at the back replacing Morris with John Farrell. The winner for Beeches came in the final minute of the game and heaped more misery on Fannon and his side. A free kick conceded on the edge of the box resulted in the ball deflecting off Farrell and sending Cameron the wrong way to gift the away side all three points.
The body language of the Fife players signalled devastation at the end, as they put everything they had into the game. Although not mathematically impossible, it is now looking that they will be facing relegation from the Premier Division.
By Danny Burthem
Fife Rangers FC 