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Rangers reserve team battled back
from two goals down to earn a hard
fought point against Cheltenham Town
at Chestnut Avenue tonight.
With a
Rangers side showing the merest
smattering of first teamers it was
never going to be easy especially
after gifting two sloppy goals in
the opening ten minutes. The Rangers
back four of Stamp, Murphy, Herron
and Wattley could not get to grips
with Cheltenham's lively front pair
of Damian Spencer and scourge of QPR
Tony Naylor.
The
first goal was a real gift. A sloppy
corner was given away and a
relatively poor near post delivery
was easily nodded home by Mark
Yates. Minutes later and it was two
as Spencer unleashed a fierce shot
from outside the box that seemed to
go straight through Digby and in.
Digby
was producing his usual display of
erratic kicking and the rest of the
team seemed to be following his
lead. Gradley and Daly in midfield
gave the ball away far too easily
and Ben Walshe never seemed to get
the better of his marker. The one
time he did manage to force his way
into the box his shot was parried to
safety by Shane Higgs in the
Cheltenham goal.
The
second half brought a slight upturn
in form but no increase in
penetration. The game seemed to be
petering out until a crude foul on
Griffiths by Yates seemed to fire up
the much maligned front man. All of
a sudden he was full of running and
providing a constant threat.
The
Rangers equaliser came when Danny
Murphy was upended as he burst into
the box. He picked himself up to
send the penalty to Higgs' left and
the comeback was on.
Rangers equalised minutes from the
end through youth team striker Luke
Sheekey. Danny Murphy slung over a
left wing cross which was
brilliantly nodded down by
Griffiths. Sheekey took one touch to
clear the ball from his feet before
smashing a low left footed shot in
off the far post. The goal obviously
meant a hell of a lot to the
youngster and his celebration showed
joy rarely seen at this level.
In the
end a point was just about fair
although Cheltenham could have had
the game won by a mile before the
Rangers second came along. Breacker
will have been pleased with his
team's spirit if not the overall
performance and he will have been
delighted to see Sheekey score. Keep
an eye on him; he is definitely one
for the future. |
