LR Rangers’ frustrations boil over, but playoffs here

DEMIZE NPSL 2, LITTLE ROCK RANGERS 0

Frustration oozed throughout War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on Saturday night like a thick cloud of smoke.

It could be felt in the repeated cries from nearly all of the announced crowd of 2,135 pleading to the officials, or in Little Rock Coach Will Montgomery’s multiple heated confrontations with the sideline referee.

It could be felt midway through the second half, when Little Rock goalkeeper Walid Birrou angrily sprinted from his net to an official near midfield after the opposition scored what looked like its third goal thanks to a blatantly missed offside call. The referee eventually overturned it.

And it could be felt as the four match officials made their way up the northwest tunnel after the Rangers’ 2-0 loss to Demize NPSL in the regular-season finale, as police officers and security guards quickly ushered them away.

“Y’all should be ashamed of yourselves,” one angry Rangers fan shouted.

Another fan tried following the referees up the tunnel while yelling some choice words before security screamed at the man to get back.

It was a night full of discontent.

“My level of frustration is pretty high right now,” Montgomery said afterward in that same tunnel. “[The referee] had some really questionable calls, to the point where he second-guessed himself.”

Perhaps the biggest moment of the match came right before halftime with the Rangers trailing 1-0. Demize’s corner kick into the box found Pedro Bassin Nunes, who then fell to the pitch after it appeared a Rangers defender made contact from behind. A foul was issued, and a penalty kick was awarded.

That left Montgomery, the Rangers and their fans stunned in disbelief.

“I think it was a dive,” Montgomery said. “When you look at the position of the player and how my defenders tried to defend the ball, it wasn’t malicious — it was just trying to poke it away. But as soon as he stuck his leg there, like any small player, they fall down inside the box.”

Nunes converted the penalty kick to put Demize ahead 2-0.

The Rangers couldn’t buy a goal despite repeated shots near the net, chances in the box and corner kicks.

Forward Lance Crabtree thought he had scored in the 35th minute when he received a pass right in front of the goal and fired a point-blank shot into the back of the net, but he was called offside.

Left winger Donald Benamna had plenty of chances, too.

After another near-miss on a shot in the 90th minute, Benamna ran straight toward the left post and kicked it with his foot in disgust.

“It just didn’t go the way I wanted to,” Benamna said of his night. “But it’s football. Things like that happen in football. I’m not frustrated about it — of course, I was on the field, but now it’s in the past.”

Despite the loss, the Rangers (4-5-1) are headed to the National Premier Socer League playoffs. They also will have home-field advantage in the first round Wednesday at 7 p.m., thanks to Ozark FC’s 3-1 victory over FC Wichita on Saturday.

“I think we’ll focus,” Benamna said. “We’ll mentally prepare for Wednesday. I think we’re in good shape.”