Rovers 2, Rangers 3
RYAN TIPPETT could have hardly done any more on Saturday, yet in his own words he left Port Soif ‘absolutely gutted’. The Muratti striker put in one of the best centre-forward performances of the season against Rangers, including setting up the first and scoring the second to help the hosts into a 2-0 lead only to see it come to nothing.
A huge amount of credit must go to Rangers and their Ross Allen-inspired fightback, but for the blue-and-whites to lose in such a manner - to a 93rd-minute winner - was very cruel.
‘In the first half we played really well and then at 2-0 we were cruising. We are just gutted to have given it away,’ Tippett said.
‘Once they got their first goal, we lost our way a bit while it gave them a real boost.
‘Unfortunately, losing becomes a habit and it is just so important for us to get a win as quickly as possible. We have just got to keep our heads up.’
It was Tippett’s fourth 90-minute outing since recovering from injury and he feels he is getting fitter all the time before a new year trip to Perth for trials with the Western Knights.
On performances like this, should he be around come May, he will be pressing hard for a Muratti place even though his previous contracts mean he is unable to play for the representative side in the FA National League System Cup.
His willingness to take the ball into feet with his back to goal and ability hold it up while waiting for the cavalry to arrive is shared by very few in Guernsey.
Very rarely does a pass go astray either.
That was how he made the opener for Jake Ellis.
He received the ball from a throw on the corner of the area, Carl Wallbridge made a run which Tippett used as a decoy before laying off to Ellis whose drive took a deflection off Phil Sarl, giving Chris Parrott no chance.
It was unfortunate for Sarl to be involved in such a way because he was his side’s outstanding performer.
Marshalling his troops from centre back, the Rangers skipper read everything that came his way and dealt with it capably.
But the others in red and black were not really at the races in the opening 45 as Parrott was called upon to make saves from Tippett and Ellis before the break while Sarl cleared off the line from the striker and Wallbridge saw a deft lob go just wide.
Rovers eventually got their deserved second seven minutes after the turnaround when Gez Overstall won a header on the edge of the Rangers area, releasing Tippett through on goal.
Parrott did well to get down low and block his first effort, but the striker calmly found the bottom corner from the rebound.
Mac Gallienne immediately introduced another striker in Shane Billien and the move paid instant rewards, although it was Allen who was the catalyst.
Having been poor in the first half, Rangers’ own Muratti striker came to life as early as the first minute of the second when he stung Simon Lempriere’s hands with a rasping shot.
Ten minutes later it was his left-foot volley back across goal that an unmarked Billien had the simple task of nodding into the gaping net.
With 20 minutes remaining, Allen received the ball deep in his own half and picked out Jon Veron’s forward run with a brilliant diagonal ball. The former Northerner got there just before Lempriere, poked it past the keeper and rammed it home to equalise.
Rangers were in the ascendancy and the lively Veron and George Prow found the side netting with low drives before the last-gasp winner.
It came when Billien capitalised on hesitancy in the Rovers midfield by snatching the ball and releasing fellow substitute Dave Cusack down the right.
He took it forward before driving a cross-shot across the face of goal and Allen was on hand to slide it home at the far post.
Gallienne described himself as ‘a very relieved man’ at the end, but agreed with Tippett that Rovers had deserved a point.
‘Rovers played well, but we have got the firepower,’ he said.
‘To be fair, the boys changed it themselves at half-time. We were very disjointed in the first half, playing too wide with Jon Veron and Andy Chamberlain, so we brought them in and had Ross behind them where he picked up the ball and made things happen.
‘It’s a good squad we have but we are just not quite there yet with our performances. When the players fulfil their potential, it will be a very strong outfit.’
Article posted on 22nd October, 2007 - 12.00am
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