Stafford Rangers 0 Grays Athletic 2
Blue Square Premier
At: Marston Road
Kick-off: 3-00 pm
Attendance: 649 (inc 37 away fans)
Weather: warm and sunny
Walking up to the ground from my roughly my usual parking spot, I pondered a couple or three questions:
Stafford v Grays Could this game against 13th-placed Grays Athletic, a team without a win or a goal in their previous three games, provide Stafford Rangers with their first league win of the season?
Where will the new loan signing from Watford, Cedric Avolin, fit into the defence?
In the week when Craig McAughtrie departed for Tamworth, who would be captain in the unlikely event that Wayne Daniel also missed out to make way for the new Frenchman?
The teamsheet arrived around 2 pm and showed that Daniel was in the starting line-up with the new question being: ‘who would partner him in the heart of the defence’. I guessed wrong!
The Secretary's Assistant asked me who I thought the dangermen were in the Grays side and I picked up number 16, Charley Hearn. I’d never seen him play but was aware his was highly rated.
My suspicions about the impact Hearn could have on the game came true in the 35th minute when he put Grays ahead direct from a free-kick played calmly into the area from around 30 yards out. Amazingly No one got a touch and the ball went in by the right-hand post. Gavin Grant made it 2-0 to the visitors and once again an incident just before half-time proved costly – goals by Oxford and Torquay and the sending off at Stevenage.
Stafford created enough chances to win the game, around 20 attempts on goal, but had to suffer a blank scoresheet and another defeat.
Manager Phil Robinson, as you can imagine, was not pleased. In the post-match press conference in the manager’s office, I had to ask the first question. “Thoughts on the performance, please?” I asked to which Robinson replied: “Oh, that’s an essay question!” He went on to give me the quotes I needed, as did a happier Grays boss, Justin Edinburgh.
Later I was cheered a bit when checking my predictions made for the Blue Square Premier Prediction Competition. Three points are awarded for a correctly predicted scoreline and one point for a correct result with an incorrectly predicted scoreline. I scored 12 points in total (two correct predictions – York v Stevenage and Farsley Celtic v Exeter – six correct results including a point for forecasting a Grays victory but not by a 0-2 scoreline). The only games I scored ‘nul point’ for were Aldershot’s win at Oxford and the goalless draw between Rushden & D and Burton). I moved up to 16th position, my highest ever, and more importantly, ahead of arch rival, 'srfcgazh'.
Stafford boss Phil Robinson made two changes. Cedric Avinel, a 21-year-old defender signed on loan from Watford, made his debut and David McNiven returned to the attack.
Both sides looked to get forward in the Marston Road sunshine with unduly worrying the opposing goalkeeper during the opening exchanges.
McAllister fired wide from outside the area and gave Danny Alcock a comfortable diving save from another low effort. McNiven sent a dipping volley just over the Grays bar.
Gavin Grant had the ball in the back of the Stafford net but his effort was disallowed for offside.
Djoumin Sangare, played against his former club, was booked in the 27th minute for a stiff challenge on Jon Ashton. In a very good natured contest, this was the first foul of the game.
Hearn should have put the visitors ahead just after the half-hour mark. Murray crossed low from the right to the far post where Hearn put the ball over from just a couple of yards out.
But the midfielder made up for the miss four minutes later with a goal out of nothing. With his side temporarily down to ten, men, Hearn delivered a harmless looking free-kick into the Stafford area from 30 yards out. No one got a touch and the ball crept into the bottom right corner past the diving Alcock.
David McNiven almost got Stafford back on level terms. He fired across goal from the left side of the area, only to see the leaping Ross Flitney push the ball away for a corner.
Grays punished Stafford again in first-half injury time. Grant burst into the area from the right and drove low across the face of goal and into the far corner of the net.
Stafford tried to put Grays under pressure at the start of the second half and McNiven flicked a pass from Grayson across the face of goal.
Five minutes after the restart, Richard Sutton thumped a shot straight at Flitney after a long free-kick from Alcock was flicked on by Grayson.
Adaggio should have scored in the next attack. Put clear, the striker drove at the legs of the advancing Flitney.
Robinson made a couple of changes, one enforced due to an injury to Sangare, but found at hard to make a real impact in the final third. Grays remained confortable without troubling Alcock.
Crosses from Chris Flynn almost led to goals around the 72-minute mark. Greg Stones rose inside the area to sent a free header over from the midfielder's free-kick. Kevin Street headed straight at Flitney from a narrow angle at the far left post.
Late in the game, Street had a go with a shot from outside the area but, again, the luck just didn't run for Stafford.
Stafford Rangers (black and white stripes/black/black): 1. Danny Alcock; 26. Cedric Avinel, 5. Wayne Daniel (capt), 6. Djoumin Sangare, 25. Fred Murray; 2. Richard Sutton; 17. Ross Draper, 7. Chris Flynn, 9. Neil Grayson; 20. Marco Adaggio, 10. David McNiven. Subs: 23. Greg Stones (for Draper, 66), 8. Kevin Street (for Sangare, 71), 24. Steve Hopkinson 28. David Oldfield, 27. Robert Duggan (gk).
Grays Athletic (yellow/yellow/yellow): 1. Ross Flitney; 2. Andy Sambrook, 14. Jon Ashton, 4. Jamie Stuart, 3. Adam Gross; 11. Karl Murray, 6. Stuart Thurgood (capt), 16. Charley Hearn, 7. Dennis Oli; 9. Craig McAllister, 23. Gavin Grant. Subs: 8. Aaron O'Connor (for Grant, 78), 18. Ben Watson (for McAllister, 90), 10. Danny Kedwell, 30. James Lawson, 12, Danny Knowles (gk).
Referee: Dean Moharab (Stockport).
The match report was originally written for and published on the now defunct www.staffordrangers.co.uk
