Many in the crowd had hoped that the evening might see the first appearance of Jamie Cureton in the real hoops but it seems that he has been well and truly packed in mothballs with a view to the weekend. This meant that the front pairing was Eric Sabin and Dennis Oli, hardly bristling with goals!
It was something of a shock when Oli gave Rangers the lead. A good spell of pressure had been exerted by the young R's with Dean Lodge and Sonny Farr impressing in wide areas. It was a Farr cross from the left that was met by Oli at the front post and glanced past the shocking John Keeley.
Keeley managed to redeem himself with a triple save from Sabin although it is hard to say which player had more to do with the ball striking the keeper three times in quick succession.
Rangers were having much the better of the play and Dennis Oli, clearly buoyed by his goal, was now running the legs off of the Brighton back four. In midfield Chris Mills and Giles Coke were tackling anything that moved and spreading the ball to Lodge and Farr whenever possible.
The second half was played in a torrent of swirling rain and it looked for a time as though Brighton would force their way back into the match. Their good spell of possession came to nothing though and whenever they got through Nick Culkin blocked their path.
Rangers scored their second, fifteen before the end and what a belter it was. A ball was cleared from the Brighton box and fell at the feet of Luke Townsend thirty yards from goal. From the moment he leathered the ball goalward the keeper was beaten and the ball smashed into the top corner. It was a terrific strike from a lad that has scored a lot of goals for the U17's this season.
The game finished at 2-0 and it was an excellent display from a very young R's team. Jack Perry at right back looked the part as did John Fletcher at centre back. The midfield quartet of Lodge, Coke, Mills and Farr were extremely good and all looked very comfortable at this level. Dennis Oli was lively up front and Eric Sabin seemed to come alive in the last twenty minutes after being overshadowed by his young strike partner when he was on the field.
Timmy Breacker will be pleased with his young charges and you would hope that some glowing reports make their way onto Olly's desk as there seem to be some very talented boys making their way though the ranks at the moment.
Culkin, Perry, Mystery Centre Back, Fletcher, Brazier, Lodge (Mulholland), Coke, Mills, Farr (Johnson), Sabin, Oli (Townsend).