Back to Earth with a thump was the feeling for Gary Fowell Builders Plains Rangers on Saturday. Rangers looked to build on their Tasman Bowl final win of the previous week, when hosting Te Puke in BOP division three.
However, Rangers made the mistake of playing too much football in their own half, with the slippery conditions a hindrance. Te Puke grabbed an early goal and then sat back and blocked off Rangers efforts to play the ball forwards with a short passing game. Te Puke held a deserved 1 - 0 lead at half time.
In the second half Rangers began to play with more dominance, but Te Puke managed to convert an early raid with a well taken header. Midway through the half, Bas Overdevest got his head to a Simon Gowing corner and Steve Vierboom tucked it into the goal to pull one back for Rangers. Rangers put a lot of pressure on the Te Puke defence, with defenders Mark Jeynes and Barrie Hawkes adding numbers to the attacks. However the visitors held out to the end. The final score was Plains Rangers 1, Te Puke 2.
Afterwards, Rangers coach could only lament his side's tendency to play good second half football, but he named Vierboom a worthy player of the day.
This Saturday Rangers have a tough job, trying to be the first team to defeat champions AFC Fury on the pitch (Whakatane did beat them in a controversial default).