Stafford Rangers 1 Grantham Town 2 - Report

Hempenstall’s close-range finish fired promotion-chasing Grantham Town to a 2-1 win two minutes from the end of a blood-and-thunder showdown at Marston Road.

Rangers led 12 minutes in when Kieran Morris played in Osebi Abadaki whose clever footwork bamboozled Tom Potts before finding the net with a bobbling shot that bounced in off the near post.

Stafford enjoyed a flurry after that with Kyle Perry thwarted at the far post by Potts and then keeper Kieran Preston.

The visitors gradually worked their way back into the game and levelled through a slice of fortune 10 minutes before half-time when Kieren Westwood’s frantic clearance hit Danny Meadows and looped into the net.

Grantham’s Michael Hollingsworth rattled the crossbar from 20 yards via a vital touch from Stafford keeper Adam Whitehouse with the hosts suffering a similar fate through Josh Craddock’s thumping header at the other end.

The sting in the tail came at the end when Andrew Wright guided into Hempenstall who was left free to tuck in from a central position six yards out.

There was still time for Town’s Tom Batchelor to get sent off for an elbow on Perry but Stafford could not fashion much in added time.

“I was proud of the players, I thought we were excellent,” said Kitching.

“It was a clash of the two form teams in the division, we have been on a right run and so have Grantham and I thought we were superb.

“On the balance of play, I thought we deserved at least a point out of it. We were bang at it and very good in the first half, had we got the second goal when Kyle Perry forced a block and then a save it might have been a different story.

“Their first goal took the heat out of what we were doing and in the second half they had the conditions.

“It was very difficult to get out and carry an attacking threat but we did at times. We put on a right show and deserved something out of it.”