"Incredible" Rangers

Press, 16 August 1976, Page 14

"Incredible" Rangers

By DERRICK MANSBRIDGE The Stars Travel Junior National Cup for under 18 soccer will stay in Canterbury — but the Northern League club. Manurewa, could not believe it after the final ended at English Park today with Rangers winners by 5-4. A superb second half recovery enabled Rangers to icome back from 0-4 down at half-time and score the winning goal with only four minutes remaining. The South Island coach, Doug Moore, labelled the re- , suit “incredible.” In fact, he was still calling it “incredible” an hour later. And so were even the most partisan of Rangers supporters. . There was only one team —I using the word in its full sensei — on the park in the first half.! Manurewa simply steam-rollered | over Rangers by aggressive, eon-1 I trolled. and fluent football, show-1 ling up two possible national | league stars of the future in I Greg Hough and Mike Aimstrong. Hough scored twice and Chris I Leigh twice before Manurewa went? in at half-time so much on top that the last 45 minutes was regarded as a mere formality. But Manurewa might never have heard of the first Junior National Cup final for club sides, on the same ground four years ago. when Christchurch United came back from 1-4 down at halftime to beat Papatoetoe. 6-5, in extra time. Some of the Rangers players and officials were spectators that day and knew that sometimes the impossible is just one great effort away. And Rangers produced that great effort, aided though they were by two penalties — the second awarded harshly- — and one disallowed goal for “hands” after the referee had first awarded it and then changed his mind after consulting a linesman. Even so, there was no taking I away the lion's share of credit from the young Rangers plavers. I

[They were Incredible, scoring' ! twice in as many minutes immediately after the start of the J second half and then dominat-! ing the play as much as Manu-1 rewo had done earlier. Manurewa contributed to its own downfall by panicking un(der pressure but the penalties the referee awarded were bitter blows, particularly the second which made the score 4-4. What wind that was left in the Aucklanders’ sails was spilled when Manurewa soon afterwards had a goal disallowed. It was inevitable after that that Rajngers would get the deciding goal and

iwrtte a fairy-tale finish to the ■ match. J Every Rangers youth placed [his part in the second half’re- | covery. with Luke Campfens getting a hat-trick 'including the two successfully-taken penalties . and Terry Robinson and Scott Dewar scoring a goal each. So. in tiie four seasons the Junior National Cup has been played by dub instead of provincial under-18 teams, the trophy has not left Canterbun. having been won in its first three years by Christchurch United, and now by Christchurch Rang-