CULLOMPTON RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB

SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST A FOOTBALL CLUB

RANGERS HOME TO SIDMOUTH ON TUESDAY.

Bucksy has decided to use a friendly against Sidmouth tonight to iron out some of the defensive frailties which have crept in during the last two games. Central defender Lloyd Beech will be unavailable for the Vase game against Crediton as he serves out a 7 match ban. Bucksy said "We will miss Beechy because he has been our best defender so I will take the chance to have a look at a different defensive formation ahead of the Vase game."

RANGERS GO DOWN AT HOME TO LAUNCESTON.

Rangers No 2 John Harkness was left dumbfounded as to how we lost the game "Their manager apologised to me after the game for stealing 3 points. We must be more clinical in front of goal. We should have been at least three up at half time and game over but we must also look at ourselves defensively. We have now shipped nine goals in our last two home games and you just cannot afford to do that. We have a tough game against Crediton coming up on Friday night in the FA Vase which is must win game for us."

RESERVES HUMBLED AT TOPSHAM - THIRDS BEAT EXMOUTH.

Manager Matthew Scott thought the scoreline was a bit harsh"We paid dearly for individual defensive mistakes. I hold my hand up and say that I was far from blameless but I am not too disheartened. We played well for long periods and when Jamie pulled it back to 3-1 with 20 minutes to go I thought that we still had a chance. Thankfully it was a cup game and we should learn from the game and look forward to our first league game on Saturday."

THIRDS BEAT EXMOUTH IN FOOTBALL EXPRESS CUP.

Manager James Smith was delighted with his teams performance "Everyone played their part and hopefully we can now look forward to a good run in this Cup competition."

BUCKSY TO MAKE CHANGES FOR ELBURTON GAME.

"We should have won both of our last matches commented" Bucksy ahead of Saturday's game against Launceston. I was'nt expecting that defeat by Elburton, but my forwards could'nt hit a bus and my defence could'nt stop one. We should have put the game to bed when we were 2-1 up and when we got back to 3-3, but we were a bit naive and got caught on the counter. I It was a wake-up call and we have got to put it right against Launceston. There are some players whose fitness I have questioned - they need to sharpen up or they will be looking for a new club. I'll be making three changes on Saturday and that might wake up a few. If you have a bad game for Cullompton now you won't get picked for the next one - there are no permanenet fixtures in this side."

BUCKSY LOOKING FOR AN IMPROVED DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE.

Bucksy was still fuming on Thursday at the slipshod defending on Tuesday against Elburton. "It was not only defensively that we were poor in the second half but I thouight we gave the ball away too easily and did not work hard enough to retain the ball all over the pitch. At 2-1 I honestly thought we would go on to win the game but we lost our shape and Elburton were able to exploit that in certain areas and we were made to pay for it. Launceston scored 4 against Bodmin on Tuesday night so we had better improve on Saturday. We have to remember though that we had two new faces starting and Joe Pryse made his debut so it is bound to take time for these lads to settle in. We are a very young team now so we must just be patient as this is a tough league and you will be punished if you sit back and let teams play." Match Report now posted.

RESERVES AND THIRDS KICK OFF THEIR SEASONS IN EAST DEVON CUPS.

The Reserves could not have had a tougher start to the new season. They have been drawn away to Topsham of the Premier Division in the first round of the East Devon Cup ko 2pm. The Thirds encouraged by a 1-1 draw at Elmore Reserves in the week take on Exmouth Reserves in the Football Express Cup at Speeds Meadow.

RANGERS PAY FOR POOR DEFENDING AT HOME TO ELBURTON VILLA.

Bucksy was very disappointed with the quality of defending shown by Rangers against Elburton Villa "We have thrown away three points tonight due to our failure to attack the ball in our own penalty area. I know that there was a great deal of good fortune about their opening two goals but let's not forget that they had hit the woodwork twice before they drew level at 2-2. It's something that we must learn from otherwise we will get punished in this league."

Two goals from Brett Worbey and one from Matt Harvey were scant consolation for the defeat. Match Report will be posted later.

LADIES KICK OFF WITH GREAT WIN.

Our Ladies kicked off their season in style with a fine 2-1 victory against Newquay. Angie Pope stole the honours with both goals.

RANGERS SO CLOSE TO 3RD WIN ON THE BOUNCE AT TAVISTOCK.

Nick Murray is still at a loss as to how his 89th minute shot was cleared off the line to rob Rangers of victory. A defender somehow managed to scoop his close range effort from only 2 yards straight into the hands of the prostrate Tavy keeper. Looking back on the game though a draw was a fair result of what was a very entertaining game played at the very impressive Langsford Park. Match report now posted. Bucksy felt that "We paid the price for some sloppy defending and conceded two goals in five minutes right at the start of the second half and we could easily have caved in but full credit to my lads they buckled down and started to play some decent football again and I thought we deserved to equalise through an excellent Matt Harvey strike. We could so easily have nicked it at the end but that would probably have been a bit harsh on Tavy."

ADAM STANSFIELD REST IN PEACE.

Manager Peter Buckingham was passed the news of Adam's death mid way through the second half of last night's game against Royal Marines(see Match Reports). Peter said "When I heard the news I left the dugout and went for a walk around the ground just trying to come to terms with Adam's death. I knew how ill he was but you continue to clutch at straws in the hope that he might recover but it was'nt to be and I have lost a very good friend. Afterwards in the clubhouse everyone was stunned and not in the mood for celebrating our victory, after all, Adam had started his senior playing career at Cullompton before joining Elmore. My sympathy goes out to all of Adam's family."

Cullompton Rangers are pleased to have played a small part in Adam's professional football career. He remains the only player we have ever put on a professional contract, we rated him that highly. As a player he was determined, dedicated and totally honest, you could not have wished for a better team mate. Rest in Peace Adam, you will always be remembered at Speeds Meadow.

OUTDOOR LEISURE DIRECT TO SPONSOR KIT.

The Exeter based company are the new sponsors of the first team kit. We are currently awaiting delivery of the new Nike kit and have our fingers crossed that it will be available for kick off on 6th August.