Stamford slam halfhearted Rangers

Stamford 3-12

Rangers 0-3

By Peter Nolan

Disappointing hardly does justice to Sunday’s Senior A football match up at Gaelic Park between Stamford and Rangers. Stamford won easily, 3-12 to 0-3, as Rangers failed to score in the second half.

On this most peculiar Sunday at Gaelic Park, we saw Stamford, wearing the Kilkenny jerseys strip off on the pitch, and then, when the hurling match was officially cancelled, pull the jerseys back on and head out to face Rangers. Stamford had arrived with only 12 jerseys and so had to borrow Kilkenny’s just worn shirts.

The early going gave no indication that Rangers were so out of their depth. Dennis Twomey’s men actually got on the board first when Mike Sheridan flashed over an opening point. Sheridan scored three first-half points and, with Malachy McHugh, paced Rangers through a decent first half. Stamford weren’t exactly a house on fire either in the early going, although they did notch a respectable 0-6 to 0-3 at halftime lead.

There was no way to foresee the Rangers collapse with 30 minutes to play. It started innocently enough, with points from Fergal O’Neill and substitute Spike Martin, whose 0-4 personal score was more than Rangers’ total. The match broke open when Pauric Cr’ven scored back-to-back goals for Stamford, the first from play, and the second, moments later from a penalty.

Stamford had it all their own way after that and Rangers, despite their best efforts, failed to score in the closing 30 minutes. In truth, Stamford didn’t look as good as the scoreline indicated, and may not fare so well against the upper half of this division, unless, of course, they can take inspiration from this match’s scoring exploits.

The Rangers looked overmatched at this level. They impressed while winning the B division last season, but they are without some key players from last year’s edition. Unless they can find some reinforcements, it looks like a long year and a short stay in the Senior A for Rangers.

Man of the Match: Pauric Cr’ven.

Stamford: Paddy Donoghue, Martin McDermott, Kevin Newell, Phil Wickham, Peter Quillinan, Rich Purcell (0-1), Justin O’Halloran, Keith Hennessey (0-1), Jason Killeen (1-1), Stephen Owens (0-1), Fergal O’Neill (0-3), John Paul Connolly, James Lynch, Pauric Creavan (2-1), Eric McDonald. Sub: Spike Martin (0-4).

Rangers: John Williams, Malachy McHugh, Stuart Barry, Mike O’Shea, Fintan O’Shea, Tomas Maher, Michael Smith, Rory Hussey, Mike Bishop, Derek McKenna, Dave Phelan, Mike Sheridan (0-3), Nestor Allen, Niall Duggan, Niall McGuiness. Sub: Jamie Duggan.