Mowbray Rangers cup shock dashed by second-half fightback

Rangers started well with the strong wind at their backs and went ahead inside five minutes when the impressive Max Brighty steered a loose ball home. The hosts camped in Kirby’s half and doubled the lead after 15 minutes when a ball over the top found Brighty who finished well.

The rest of the half continued to be one-way traffic, but Mowbray could not add to their tally.

The half-time team talk warned what to expect kicking into the wind, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears as Kirby pulled a goal back from the penalty spot after their forward was brought down following a failed clearance.

Rangers did manage odd breaks out of defence with Brighty hitting the bar, but Kirby levelled when another miskick let in a Kirby forward to calmly slot the equaliser.

With the clock ticking down, Kirby got the winner when more confusion in the home defence allowed a scrambled goal to end Mowbray’s cup hopes.

Rangers can take positives from a game they should have won, but will need to work harder on the training pitch to ensure results like this happen less often.

Rangers: Bailey, Rudkin, Ward, Barker, Parker, Hubbard, Brighty, Lomas, Pole, Finch, Hallam, Phillips-Aymes.