Retford 5 v Renishaw Rangers 2 - CMFL North

Saturday 18th August 2018

CMFL North

at the Rail Ground

Retford FC (1) 5

Jack Johnson 35

Gaz Davies 52, 73

Declan Heath 62

Josh Robson 72

Renishaw Rangers (1) 2

Aiden McTighe 37

Owen Ryan 88

Admission £3. Programme £1.50. Attendance 71
Link to Retford FC press officer Jon Knight's 
photos from this entertaining game: HERE

When I last visited the Rail ground, back in May, I also saw Renishaw Rangers in action, when they visited the sprawling metropolis and non league football hotbed of East Retford. On a night that the Choughs won quite convincingly, by six goals to nil over their Derbyshire border based visitors, who play their home games seven miles away from Renishaw itself at Kiveton Park, in South Yorkshire. 

The Yorkshire border is only the length of a couple of half decent goal kicks (or the width of a few second half glaring misses by Renishaw's Ryan Bates), away from the Derbyshire village... while 'Kivo' is even closer to Nottinghamshire in the opposite direction, given that four counties (including Lincolnshire) all merge into each other around these parts, bringing together a disparate mix of local traditions and folklore. But we usually stay quiet about it, to keep the otherwise inevitable influx of tourists out.

Another stand awaiting construction at the Rail Ground.
And floodlighting will be arriving soon too.

A ground hopper from London was present at that May fixture as well... and he kept himself amused by informing me all about the railways in the area, that are of course just a matter of feet away from both Retford FC and Renishaw Rangers' respective grounds, and are only separated by palisade fencing. 

I was far too polite to inform him that he was actually talking a whole load of uninformed codswallop and that he was stood right beside somebody who knew a whole lot more about the local rail network than him... because I actually work quite regularly on the lines that run just beyond those respective fences.

Prior to this afternoon, Retford had only played one game thus far this season, which they lost 2-0 on the Road at Tideswell. Whereas Renishaw had played two and won two, both at their Hard Lane home ground,  against Appleby Frodingham and Staveley.

Adam Scott had to sit this afternoon's game out after misbehaving and getting red card at Tideswell last week, while Aaron Hutchinson, sponsored by THE66POW was also sidelined while he recovers from injury... I would've kept my receipt if I'd have known that Retford were selling me damaged goods.

Danny Hartshorn in the Rangers goal, fielded a couple of early touches, when he got down to his left to hold onto Jason Swannack's effort from fifteen yards, after Bates had half cleared Jack Johnson's left wing delivery, before Gaz Davies tested him with a free kick  from the same sort of range.
But Renishaw were a different proposition to last season (during the first half at least) and were unlucky not to take the lead moments later, when Jon Kennedy saved Levi Richmond's close range strike and the loose ball ran to Jordan Parsons, who rolled the ball across the six yard box to Josh Pickering, who beat the Choughs 'dead famous' keeper all ends up, but saw his shot crash off of the cross bar.

Parsons put in an impressive shift and was often the outlet that the visitors employed to give them some forward momentum, but for me, the stand out player of the afternoon, was Retford's number two: Matt Bryce, who combined a solid performance on the right hand side of defence, with plenty of link up play in midfield, a good eye and assured touch as regards distributing the ball and no small amount of work weighing in on the right wing, that he got up and down as frequently (and almost as quickly) as the succession of trains that shot by at regular intervals on the adjacent East Coast Main line.

Close behind Bryce, in THE66POW man of the match voting stakes was Oli Bilham, who was a tower of strength in the middle of the park for the home side... and it was he who came close to breaking the deadlock after fifteen minutes, but Rob Holland blocked his goal-bound effort from Swannack's square pass and cleared Rangers lines at the expense of a corner.
The pendulum swung the other way again as Joe Kirk spotted Parsons run early and fed the ball forward down the left flank to his live-wire team mate, whose fizzing delivery across Kennedy's goalmouth only needed the slightest of touches, but was just out of the reach of Aiden McTighe and physical presence of Richmond.

 

Gareth Campion came to his sides rescue, blocking Liam Riley's half volley after Parsons had chested the ball down to him from Bates' dipping free kick.
The hosts quickly turned defence into attack and Swannack did well to cut back on the left flank before crossing towards Jack Johnson who added the finishing touch to put the Choughs ahead in the thirty fifth minute.
Maybe I should take a moment out to explain the relevance of the 'Choughs' nickname.

A chattering (for that is the correct collective noun) of Choughs

Recently an esteemed non league blogger of my acquaintance, Russ, a friendly soul from Wycombe, had suggested that the moniker was derived from the noise that the passing locomotives make, which would actually have made sense, of a kind and was also quite amusing. But in truth, the town coat of arms for Retford, depicts two birds, which represent the ancient and apparently feuding parishes of East and West Retford... those birds are actually Choughs, so the non de plume, is historically significant to the locality.

In the time that it took me to impart that piece of fascinating knowledge upon you, Renishaw had equalised, when the omnipresent threat of Parsons, picked out McTighe with a well weighted delivery into the area, that was cleverly steered past Kennedy while the prolific striker feigned that he was going to take the ball away in the opposite direction. McTighe has now scored in all three of Renishaw's CMFL games so far this season.

Both sides had chances to go in front before half time, but saves at both ends, by Hartshorn who denied Johnson after Robbie Collingburn had set him and Kennedy who chased off of his line to reach the ball first, after Parsons had 'dinked' it over the Retford defence for McTighe to chase after.

HT: Choughs 1 v Rangers 1

Declan Heath was introduced by the home side at half time and his willingness to run at the Rangers defence, which now had an extra man to pick up, created enough space for Martin Woodhead to pick out Gaz Davies with a perfectly weighted pass, from which the Retford number turn planted the ball past Hartshorn to restore the home side's lead.
Renishaw tried to get back on level terms again and tried chipping away at their hosts rearguard down the right flank through the tricky Owen Ryan, who was presenting Swannack with the kind of battling one to one challenge that he so obviously relishes.

But, in spite of the visitors persistence so far in this contest, Retford were slipping up through the gears now and starting to take the game by the scruff of it's neck and squeeze the action into Renishaw's back third.
Bryce made a powerful run forward and floated a hanging cross towards Davies, but instead of glancing the ball towards the target, it bounced off of the side of his head and the moment had gone, whilst 'anon' who was stood next to me at the time, comically remarked: "That's the problem with having a square head instead of a round one!"
Moments later, Davies once again threatened to grab another goal, after Johnson had held off a robust challenge from Connor Shirley to get his cross away from the left, but Hartshorn was down quickly to block the resulting low and well struck shot.

Swannack and Johnson combined on the left before the latter picked up a neat return pass from Bilham, but his lofted cross narrowly evaded the incoming Davies, who having found the net, evidently wanted another goal to his name.
Hartshorn was forced into making a close range block from the rampant Davies, but as the ball spun from his grasp, Heath was on hand to stab the ball over the line.
It was all or nothing time from Renishaw if they were going to salvage anything from this game now and though Cory Burton managed to get a cross of sorts in, despite the limpet like attention of Campion, Kennedy showed why he is still playing the game, years after everybody had expected to hang up his gloves and take it easy on Saturday afternoons. Jamie Housley, the other Retford goalkeeper, must cherish training with a player of Kennedy's proven calibre, while also wondering when the effing hell it'll be his turn to impress between the posts on the Rail Ground.

As Renishaw's initially promising afternoon, began to slip away from them, they found that Graeme Severn, was a rock in the middle of the Choughs defence and about as immovable as a particularly stubborn and demolition proof brick outhouse... and in the seventy second minute, the visitors resolve took a massive kick in the nether regions, when Davies unselfishly played a square ball across their goalmouth to present Josh Robson with a great chance, that he converted to make the score 4-1.
And soon afterwards it was 5-1 when Johnson's left wing cross deflected off of Riley into the path of Davies on the edge of the area, who finally bagged his second goal... and richly deserved it was too.

Heath went to ground under an industrial strength challenge from Shirley inside the penalty area, but the referee waved 'play on' after deciding that the Rangers right back had made a genuine attempt to get the ball... which one Mr Sharp? His left one or his right one?

Owen Ryan forced a save out of Kennedy late in the game, before setting Bates up with a half chance that he drilled wide of the goal, but right at the death Ryan actually reduced the arrears, when he ran onto a through ball from McTighe, through the right channel and kept his cool before planting the ball past Kennedy. It wasn't going to make the blindest bit of difference to the fianl outcome now, but it was a well taken strike nevertheless.

FT: Retford 5 v Renishaw Rangers 2  

And so it came to pass, that a much improved Renishaw side, were swept away by Retford's second half power play, that earned the Choughs a decent win in their opening home league fixture.

I look forward toseeing both of these sides in action again any time soon... and would politely suggest that you should too.