ST ALBANS RANGERS AN own goal from a corner ensured the Under 16s started the new season with an entertaining 1-1 draw against Pinner. Rangers had plenty of possession in the first half, and created several scoring opportunities

ST ALBANS RANGERS

AN own goal from a corner ensured the Under 16s started the new season with an entertaining 1-1 draw against Pinner. Rangers had plenty of possession in the first half, and created several scoring opportunities, the best of which was a close-range effort from Man of the Match Luke Joyner. The second half was more evenly matched, with both sides involved in goalmouth scrambles. Pinner went ahead before Rangers equalised when a corner was deflected in by a defender. Ben Patrickson had shots which went agonisingly wide, and Jack Faulder's free kick went just over the bar. Tom Mardon and debut player Charlie Craigen made some crucial tackles in defence, and the whole team played very well indeed.

The Under 13s triumphed on the road in their first outing of the season against a determined Northwood side on their home turf. Rangers made light work of the heavy conditions underfoot and the back four provided a solid launch pad to spring their own attacks. Just 10mins into the first half Connor McGrath beat the Northwood goalkeeper to give Rangers a deserved lead. After the break further pressure from Rangers saw Omar Ech-Chadli fire Rangers into a 2-0 lead. Northwood rallied but were repelled at every turn. Connor McGrath notched another soon after to make it 3-0. Northwood earned themselves a consolation goal just before the final whistle to make the score 3-1 to Rangers. The team shared the Man of the Match award.

The Under 12 Reds scored five first half goals to register a 5-1 victory in their opening league fixture against Belmont. Two goals in one minute from Kie Thompson got Rangers underway with further strikes from Ozzie Ogbebor and Callum Moriarty and a Belmont own goal completing the tally. Callum Moriarty was named Man of the Match for a commanding display in a midfield while Michael Kingsbury and Anthony Stephens also played well.

The Under 10 Blues played their first match of the season against Whetstone Wanderers Tigers, one of the strongest teams in the League. Rangers played very positively but the strength of the opposition soon became evident. Despite the best efforts of Ryan Nicholson and Zac Dambrauskas in defence Rangers were 5 - 0 down by half time. Some excellent defending by Ryan Flanagan, Daniel Angus and Alex Curtis in the second half helped to keep the score down with Charlie Irvine and Harry Mardell leading the attempts on goal, unfortunately without success. Goalkeeper Jack Simpson played heroically making a number of spectacular saves and shared the Man of the Match honours with Zac Dambrauskas. The final score was 12-0 to the Tigers.