Showing a much improved effort from the season opener, Rangers' replay against league leaders Bridgetown FC was actually a much closer contest than the final score line indicates. Two professional grade Bridgetown strikes put the match out of reach, but for almost seventy minutes the match was hard-fought and fairly even...a definite turn around from the 0-6 defeat that opened the spring campaign.
'Gers welcomed back Malvern Ntini to the Montessori Earth School after being on-loan with FC Swoosh and his attacking presence made an immediate impact on the tempo and pace of the match. The home side fielded a near total complement of seventeen players and lined up in the usual 4-4-2: Steve Berg, goalkeeper; Brian Bauman, Dan Calkins, Jim Snyder and Mike Pullen, fullbacks; Gary Foubister, Aaron Radigan, Ntini, and Bulisani Sibanda, midfield; Ron King and James McConnachie, forwards. Reserves Ron Burden, Mark Vogel, Dario Lemos, Thomas Fahrbach, David Hayden, and Sean-Scott Ingersoll filled out the squad. Only Matt Muralt and Jim Seaton were absent for the 7:00 p.m. kick-off.
The Yellow and Black took the opening kick-off and immediately set up camp in the Bridgetown half. (Technically, the opposition only had nine players at the start, but I'm really not a numbers guy...and they picked up two or three additional players within the first fifteen minutes.) Good possession, fantastic dribbling through the middle, and a high back line all contributed to keep the ball far away from Berg...also for the first fifteen minutes. Several shots kept the Bridgetown keeper busy and, judging from the emphatic back-line chatter from BFC, there was genuine concern on the part of the other team. Around the twentieth minute, Bridgetown formed up and connected on their first and only chance thus far in the match, going up 1-0. McConnachie responded with a chance of his own a short time later, a glorious effort to the upper left corner after a feed from the center. Back on level terms, play continued back and forth. Bridgetown scored again after a fast throw-in but after 45 minutes the 2-1 score was certainly an improvement from 0-3 result in the corresponding fixture just five weeks ago.
Bauman got the second half underway with a rousing slide tackle on a sprinting Bridgetown striker inside the box that was clean as a whistle. He honored the charge with a "Yee-haw!" or some such rebel yell that even the forward admitted as he got up, "That was a really good slide." Hoping to catch their back line unawares, 'Gers started playing some Route 1 balls over the top for Ntini to run on. Two of his runs resulted in a narrow miss to the left and a ricochet off the goal post to the right. Burden had two long distance shots that backed the keeper up and made him scramble for the grab. Berg became progressively busier as Bridgetown also played longer balls; one rocket shot just inside the box blasted off his chest for Pullen to clear. About the seventieth minute or so, Bridgetown picked up a direct free kick about twenty-five meters from the goal. Rangers dutifully set three in the wall ten yards out but the resulting shot was truly professional grade stuff--not just MLS, either. It whipped and dipped to within six inches of the upper right intersection, beyond anybody's reach. The last goal came eight minutes later from the near sideline back to "Josh", Bridgetown's quick, short striker who turned it and from what seemed to be an impossibly tight angle, arced the ball into the far inside netting.
Fan support was good for the match despite the drizzle and cool evening air and, much to the manager's relief, the match ball which was punted over the fence in the first half was returned for future use. Given their form, it is unlikely that we will play Bridgetown again any time soon...they are strong favorites to win the league and would likely be promoted.
Next week: Rangers-Blue Monk Derby, Part II. Early scouting reports indicate that Monk's extra time game winning scorer has been suspended for fighting with NE Portland Chiropractic, so a repeat of the second week's heartbreaker seems unlikely.
Cheers...
Sean-Scott Ingersoll
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