Margate 3 Stafford Rangers 1

Saturday 25th November 2000
Margate 3 Stafford Rangers 1
Dr Martens League Premier Division
At: Hartsdowne Park
Kick-off: 3-00 pm
Programme: £1-50 (44 pages)
Attendance: 345
Weather: rain


Margate went top of the Dr Martens League Premier Division with a 3-1 win over Stafford Rangers.

In difficult wet and windy conditions on the Kent coast, Margate went ahead in the 11th minute. Munday headed home after Paul Hayward, deputising for the injured Richard Williams, failed to gather a corner on the edge of his six-yard box. The midfielder added a second three minutes before the break, reacting to drive home a loose ball after Hayward blocked a Phil Collins header on the line. Stafford, playing with the strong wind and rain, were restricted to a couple of long range shots easily dealt with by home keeper Lee Turner.

The rain eased at half-time to the benefit of Stafford who soon got back into the game with more positive play. In the 50th minute Joe O’Connor intercepted a poor clearance by Turner, ran towards goal and after drawing the keeper, squared the ball to Paul Kiely to tap-in. Just after the hour mark with Margate pressing for a third, Hayward kept Stafford in contention with two fine saves. First he dived low to his left to deflect a shot by Tako for a corner and then he leapt in the air to turn over a rising drive from Jay Saunders.

A minute from time Margate made sure of the three points. Stuart Ryder brought down Saunders inside the area and Eliot Martin converted the resultant penalty.

Margate (blue/blue/blue): 1. Lee Turner, 2. Graham Porter, 3. Paul Lamb, 4. Bill Edwards, 5. Lee Williams, 6. Iain O’Connell, 7. Mark Munday, 8. Eloit Martin, 9. Mo Tako, 10. Phil Collins, 11. Jay Saunders. Subs: 12. Leon Braithwaite (for Tako, 75), 14. Gary Blackford (not used), 15. Dean Yorath (not used).

Stafford Rangers (black and white stripes / black / black): 1. Paul Hayward, 2. Leigh Everritt, 3. Steve Jones, 4. Darren Simkin, 5. Chris Brindley, 6. Stuart Ryder, 7. Darren Boughey, 8. Craig Lovatt, 9. Joe O’Connor, 10. Paul Kiely, 11. Scott Dundas. Subs: 12. Tony Eccleston (for Boughey, 78), 14. Darren Middleton (not used), 15. Darren Shaw (not used).

Referee: Mr S Peeke (Northfleet).

Goals:
1-0 Mark Munday (11)
2-0 Mark Munday (43)
2-1 Paul Kiely (50)
3-1 Eliot Martin (90 pen)

Crawley Town 2 Stafford Rangers 2

Saturday 11th November 2000
Crawley Town 2 Stafford Rangers 2
Dr Martens League Premier Division
At: Broadfield Stadium
Kick-off: 3-00 pm
Programme: issued
Attendance: 858
Weather: rain

Stafford Rangers came within a few minutes of recording a deserved victory at Crawley. The leaders came back from two goals down to level in injury time then missed a match-winning penalty right at the end.

Disappointed to not get all three points skipper Scott Dundas was still pleased, commenting that this was the best performance of the season. “The boss got the formation right, we passed well and the team showed lots of commitment and energy.”

Playing with rain and a strong wind at their backs, Stafford were two up at the break. In the 20th minute minutes, Simkin crossed low towards the near post and O’Connor flicked the ball past Little. Then, just after half hour mark, Kiely fed Lovatt who made no mistake from eight yards.

In the second half Rangers continued to play well into the wind with O’Connor hitting a post on the hour mark. Crawley put Stafford under a lot of pressure and pulled a goal back in the 81st minute when Anderson fired past Williams from inside a crowded area. Then, roared by an increasing vociferous crowd, the home side levelled a minute into stoppage time through Riley’s header. Stafford deserved something from the game and it was just that Riley fired a penalty over the bar with seconds remaining after Steve Jones brought down Scott Mean.

Crawley Town (red/red/red): 1. Andy Little, 2. Scott Mean, 3. Ian Payne, 4. Andy Riley, 5. Marc Pullan, 6. John Ugbah, 7. Danny Carroll, 8. Luke Anderson, 9. Dean Wordsworth, 10. Mark Hawthorne, 11. Dave Powell. Subs: 12. Matt Woolf (for Wordsworth, 56), 14. Andy Taylor (for Carroll, 66), 15. Mark Hynes (for Payne, 56).

Stafford Rangers (black and white stripes / black / black): 1. Richard Williams, 2. Leigh Everritt, 3. Steve Jones, 4. Darren Simkin, 5. Chris Brindley, 6. Stuart Ryder, 7. Darren Boughey, 8. Craig Lovatt, 9. Joe O’Connor, 10. Paul Kiely, 11. Scot Dundas. Subs: 12. Darren Middleton (not used), 14. Darren Shaw (for Boughey, 89), 15. Dean Craven (not used).

Referee: C Hayes (Godalming).

Goals:
0-1 Joe O’Connor (21)
0-2 Craig Lovatt (32)
1-2 Luke Anderson (82)
2-2 Andy Riley (90+1)

Stafford Rangers 3 Ossett Town 1

Saturday 4th November 2000
Stafford Rangers 3 Ossett Town 1
FA Trophy First Round
At: Marston Road
Kick-off: 3-00 pm
Admission: -; Programme: £1 (44 pages)
Attendance: 413
Weather: cloudy, showers

Stafford Rangers (black and white stripes / black / black): 1. Richard Williams, 2. Leigh Everritt, 3. Steve Jones, 4. Darren Simkin, 5. Chris Brindley, 6. Stuart Ryder, 7. Paul Kiely, 8. Craig Lovatt, 9. Joe O’Connor, 10. Darren Middleton, 11. Scot Dundas. Subs: 12. Dean Craven (for Middleton, 66), 14. Darren Boughey (for Dundas, 60), 15. Dominic Heath (for Everritt, 84), 16. Darren Shaw (not used), GK. Paul Hayward (not used).

Ossett Town (red/red/red): 1. Mick Clark, 2. Chris Stabb, 3. Paul Sykes, 4. Ryan Cray, 5. Craig Boardman, 6. James Stansfield, 7. Matt Smithard, 8. Mark Lambert, 9. Gary Brook, 10. Simon Fuller, 11. Paul Ryan. Subs: 12. Lee Murphy (for Lambert, 79), 14. Chris Annan (for Ryan, 65), 16. Martin Aysclough (not used), GK. Neil Bennett (not used).

Referee: M Matadar (Blackburn).

Goals:
1-0 Darren Middleton (18)
2-0 Joe O’Connor (53)
3-0 Paul Kiely (64)
3-1 Chris Annan (73)