N-ICE TO BE BACK!
Non-League returns to ease pain of England’s Euro woe
FOOTBALL fans dejected after England’s embarrassing Euro 2016 exit to Iceland were able to put their disappointment behind them this weekend – Non-League’s back!
It may only be the start of July, but the pre-season action is up and running. National League outfit Aldershot Town were one of the first into the fray, going down 3-2 at home against QPR on Friday night.
Yesterday, Guiseley won 3-0 at Parkgate, Bath City bashed Partick Thistle 4-0, Darlington triumphed 3-1 at Buxton, Wealdstone lost 2-1 to QPR U21s and Coleshill Town played out a 3-3 thriller aganst Basford United.
GARY WADDOCK saw his new squad launch themselves into pre-season will gusto but his only thoughts were for 19 year-old trialist Ben Harrison, who suffered a horrific leg injury just minutes into his quest for a contract.
The first-half was more competitive than a friendly on the first day of July had any right to be, but the former AFC Wimbledon defender’s 49th-minute challenge with Nedum Onuoha resulted in a ten-minute delay and the loss of much of the game’s edge.
By then Jay Emmanuel-Thomas had already won the match for a strong Rangers squad, and Waddock said: “I’m devastated for Ben and his family. He’s come in here to play for a contract to further his career, and then for that to happen, it took over proceedings really. I hope he has a speedy recovery.”
Giving debuts to seven of his summer signings, Waddock was, though, pleased with his side’s showing
“It was a good night’s work, we’ve come up against some very talented players, and from a fitness point of view it was very good,” he said.“We wanted to play with an intensity and I was pleased with the level that we performed at. It shows the type of player that we’ve got here.”
Emmanuel-Thomas had twice threatened to score himself in the early stages but provided a deft pass through the defence for Olamide Shodipo to skip around goalkeeper Jake Cole and give Rangers a 16thminute lead.
Former Crawley winger Shamir Fenelon equalised just six minutes later, his 25-yard shot taking a slight deflection past Matt Ingram, but Emmanuel-Thomas was in determined mood. He burst past Cheye Alexander down the left and rifled a low shot across Cole.
The highlight of the evening, however, came on 34 minutes. Amidst a congested midfield, Emmanuel-Thomas nonchalantly stroked a drive into the top corner of the net from over 25 yards.
The 22 new players introduced after the break initially continued that endeavour but a second goal for the Shots – from Harrison’s replacement Guri Demuria, hooked in after Joe Lumley flapped at a 61st-minute corner – was virtually the final action of note.
Fellow trialists Angelo Balanta and Max Kretzschmar briefly impressed in combining for a 22-yard volley which flew inches wide, but the atmosphere was understandably in direct contrast to the first-half fervour.
STAR MAN: Jay Emmanuel-Thomas (QPR) ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★