Witton Albion 1 Stafford Rangers 2 - Report
Two first-half rockets saw Stafford Rangers overcome a controversial late penalty to grind out a 2-1 victory at play-off chasing Witton Albion.
Rob Thompson-Brown’s arcing free-kick gave Boro the edge two minutes in and they survived a scare when Will Jones missed from two yards a golden chance to level.
Jack Sherratt punished that miss with a blistering drive five minutes before half-time with Stafford successfully suffocating their hosts in the second half.
Witton grabbed a lifeline when Josh Craddock was judged to have fouled Matt Devine and keeper Adam Whitehouse was then sent off for a second booking having kicked clear once Steven Tames had netted the penalty.
The ending was frantic but Rangers stood firm, much to boss Neil Kitching’s delight.
“It was a truly fantastic performance away from home against a team chasing the play-offs,” he said.
“Any away win in this league is good and the performance warranted it.
“We had lots of energy, scored two great goals and when Witton had possession they could not break us down. We played really well.
“It was a great free-kick from Robbie and matched by Jack’s from the middle of the park.
“The only disappointment was conceding a penalty which never should have been given.
“Josh went in to challenge on the edge of the box. He made no contact with their player whatsoever but he fell over and it was easy to give them the penalty.
"They scored that and Adam kicked the ball out of the net. Because he didn’t hand the ball back and help them, he got booked. I found that amazing.
“It was a fantastic win but disappointing to get the bookings we did for very little. It annoyed me, it was very one sided but credit to the lads, we got the points.”
