Plains Rangers were away to Papamoa in this final game of the league season. Both teams were short on numbers and players from each team ended up refereeing a half each.

As the league positions will not be affected by the result of this game, Rangers made some unorthodox positional changes.

Hamish Wilde was well out of position. With the first three choice goal keepers injured or unavailable, Wilde put his hand up to fill in as keeper.

The usual centre-back pairing of Teimana Awhimate and Sam McPherson were put into unfamiliar positions of strikers. It nearly paid off as early attacks on the Papamoa goal by both players produced near goals, only for the Papamoa keeper to make several good saves.

The changes that Rangers made in defence were soon exposed when a long ball to their speedy winger resulted in the first goal of the match.

Rangers came back again with several more goal-scoring opportunities and it seemed like the equaliser was going to come. However, Papamoa sent another ball in behind the Rangers’ defenders to score on the break again.

The Edgecumbe-based side got their heads up when Sam McPherson bundled a ball past the keeper to make it 2-1. Both sides scored again before half time, including young speedster Alex Boyce’s first goal for Plains Rangers.

In the second half, the game got messy with various calls not being picked up, due to there being no linesmen and inexperienced refereeing. Rangers made more personnel changes to get Wilde into the out-field.

Unfortunately for the Rangers, they let in another two goals in the second half, for the game to finish 5-2 to the home side.

Rangers’ player of the day was Alex Boyce with his debut goal.

Rangers secured third place in the BOP Men’s Division 2 League with 6 wins, 3 draws and 6 losses. However, their season is not over.

Rangers are still in the Miller Cup and play the quarter-final game on Saturday, August 30, at Edgecumbe Domain against 1st division side Waipuna Rangers.