Stafford Rangers drop to bottom two after Hinckley defeat

Stafford Rangers manager Tim Flowers bemoaned his side’s failure to finish as they lost 3-1 to Hinckley United at Marston Road, writes Lewis Davies

Jamie Reid fired Hinckley ahead, hitting a fine strike into the top-left corner before Ben Mills equalised with a soft penalty just before half-time.

An own-goal from Seb Harris put Hinckley ahead again after Reid’s dangerous free-kick caused mayhem in the box.

Substitute Danny Newton’s strike put the game to bed for the away side but Flowers rued many missed opportunities.

Stafford Rangers/ Hinckley United

He said: “I don’t know how many chances we’ve carved out this season but I think we had enough to win three games today.

“It’s easy to sit here and say we were the better side but I think we were. Their goalkeeper was their best player, which tells a story.”

American defender Harris suffered a nightmare game having scored the own goal and being at fault for Hinckley’s third but also wasted good efforts at the other end.

With a team consisting largely of youngsters, Flowers believes his side need to adapt and learn from their errors quickly.

He added: “Obviously it’s an own-goal which is just one of those things that happens but an under-hit back-pass was punished and you get punished brutally at any level. They (Hinckley) have rode their luck and that irritates me.

“There’s a reason why the likes of Oldham and Northampton use us as a vehicle to get these kids experience so they can make their mistakes here.

“I’m not going to beat people up too badly because you can’t fault effort but the second and the third goal just wasn’t good enough.”

Stafford’s second-highest scorer Tyree Clarke as well as regular centre-back Mark Dudley missed out on Saturday due to injuries and should be back for the next league game against Vauxhall Motors.

However, Flowers said he will continue bringing in players to add to Harris, Liam and Rod McDonald and decent debutant Martin Naylor before that game comes around.

He said: “Our scoring record tells a story. We can’t score a goal but I’ll be looking at all avenues.

“I’m not looking to make wholesale changes because I haven’t got the money. I’m no Paul Daniels, we’re not going to get anything better than what we have for £100.

“My job is to improve the quality of this football club and team and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Newcastle Town boss ‘proud’ of players despite FA Cup exit

Newcastle Town boss Greg Clowes has praised his players despite their 1-0 defeat to Vauxhall Motors in the FA Cup Final Qualifying Round.

Motors, who are 34 places above Newcastle, were made spectators as Newcastle dominated lengthy spells of the match, with Jordan Johnson and Alan Nagington squandering chances.

The Liverpool-based side made Newcastle pay and scored through David Mannix’s close range effort at the back post.

Clowes said: “I am very proud of the lads and they did superbly well.

“We put in a good performance and we were the better team but we couldn’t find the back of the net.

“It is disappointing but the lads did not themselves down”.

Newcastle face Trafford in the Presidents Cup tomorrow (Oct 26) night and face Brigg Town on Saturday (Oct 30).

Clowes revealed he will be resting some of his side for Saturday’s league match.

“We want some of the lads fresh for Saturday so 5 or 6 will miss the match against Trafford so they have a full week of rest.”