Plains Rangers men had their final league fixture of the season, when they hosted Ngongotaha Lakes on Saturday. The two teams had had two tight tussles already this season, and were only a point apart on the points table.

Rangers welcomed back Hamish Wilde to the midfield and wanted to see the season out in style. However, it was the visitors who settled into their game first. They played a good passing style and also prevented Rangers doing the same thing. After ten minutes Christian Wetting was called on to make a strong one-on-one save to keep out a Ngongotaha attack. However, a few minutes later, an underhit back-pass was pounced on by the visitors and they opened the scoring. Rangers worked hard and only five minutes later earned a penalty when livewire striker Elias Thomas was felled in the box. He stepped up to convert the spot-kick confidently. As the half wore on, Ngongotaha’s slick passing had the home team struggling. A long-range strike drifted narrowly wide, but Rangers hung on to have the score remain 1 – 1 at half time.

A couple of positional changes sparked up the home team after the break. Phil Ballingall subbed on in the midfield and sent a shot just wide of goal. Thomas scored after latching on to a clearance from Wetting, only to have it ruled out for offside. Alex Boyce put a shot just over the bar. The visitors got back into action too and Wetting had to pull off another good save. The game became increasingly stretched as both teams searched for the winner. Sam McPherson, making his first appearance after several weeks off with injury, came close to forcing the ball into the Ngongotaha goal. Wetting had to make yet another save, diving to tip a shot round the post. With two minutes to go Ronan Mitchell hit a sweet shot, but the visiting keeper made a strong save to keep it out. The final score was probably a fair one: Plains Rangers 1, Ngongotaha Lakes 1.

The result leaves Rangers in fourth place but Ngongotaha have one game left, albeit against the champions Waipuna, in which to leapfrog the Edgecumbe team. Mitchell was named player of the day for his efforts. Wetting and Anaaru Awhimate were also in top form.

Both Plains Rangers teams have an exciting day of trophy football this coming Saturday at Rex Morpeth Park. Rangers’ women will face Whakatane Town, a memorial game for the late and sadly missed Brooke Stilgoe. Rangers’ men will also play Whakatane Town, for the Sponsors’ Cup with kick-off times to be confirmed.