Pic: Will Kilpatrick
PUT yourself in their shoes. You’re long-suffering Stafford Rangers, and you have proudly held the Evo-Stik NPL South leadership since the afternoon of August 23.
You’d been joint top in the weeks before. You need a point on the final day of the season to clinch the title, but second-placed Shaw Lane Aquaforce are winning.
Although possible before the game, lose at Coalville and you’re toppled for the first time since last summer. The scores are level at 1-1 and after 15 minutes of relentless pressure, they pound you with one final corner as ten to five approaches.
Despite having nothing to play for, for some reason your opposition are treating this like a cup final. It’s injury time, and their goalkeeper comes up with seconds left.
To make matters worse, you’ve booked your end-of-season party back at the club that night. That could be a damp squib.
Your hearts are not so much in your mouth, they’ve slithered down your throat and they’re setting up camp in your stomach. It’s churning. The corner is half cleared. Time stands still. The keeper in question fancies it, edge of the box he hits a fantastic volley. It’s on point, it’s accurate and it’s rising…and…it…clears your crossbar by the width of a cigarette paper. And breathe!
It’s an excruciating moment you wouldn’t put your worst footballing enemy, so spare a thought for one of the game’s nice guys, Neil Kitching.
“I was actually on my knees, I didn’t know what was going on,” said the Rangers manager. “Credit to Coalville I suppose, they were desperate to win it even though it was a dead rubber game for them.
Salvation
“When they sent their keeper up so late on you sink a bit. Then the ball came to him, he hits a volley from nowhere and it goes just – and I mean just – over. It’s a mixture of emotions. I was shaking.
“Credit to Shaw Lane, too. They’ve gone toe-to-toe with us but we’ve held strong. We had a great night back at the club after for our awards night. A few millimetres lower and it could have been a total non-event but in the end we have a smashing night.”
Kitching gives it the fans straight. If their keeper Sean Bowles’ late effort finds the net rather than salvation over the crossbar, it’s as good as season over.
“How would we be able to handle the play-offs after that, losing top spot in the division for practically the first time all season with one final kick in injury time?” he asks.
“The answer is in reality we wouldn’t. I would have tried to lift the players, but who would have lifted me! I couldn’t see us doing anything, not with the semi-final on Tuesday night.
“It would have been mentally draining but it’s all what ifs now – it was really, really nervy but it was worth it in the end, that’s for sure.”
