Rangers continued their quest for the league and cup double with a dominant victory over local rivals Lozells Strikers in the semi-final of the Shapla Villa Cup.
On a warm afternoon it was all set up for a epic encounter which promised a great battle filled with the nerves of knowing what was at stake.
With all in the squad present ,apart from injured maestro Zahoor Sulliman ,both Shah and Habib where faced with some very difficult selection issues.
The game began at its expected fast pace with both teams battling to take control of the game. It was Lozells who seemed to settle the quicker, closing Rangers down at every opportunity and trying to set up quick counter attacks.
It was Rangers however who drew first blood after a sustained period of pressure. A cross from the right from Abrar was unnecessarily handed by the Lozells skipper and the linesman had no hesitation in flagging for a penalty. Up stepped the ever reliable Afsar who comfortably slotted the the ball the keeper`s right.
The following passages of play saw the impressive midfield of Rangers begin to take control of the game, however Rangers strangely looked very nervous defending set pieces and this led to Lozells having their best chances of the game. The first when the Lozells defender missed from virtually point blank range when missing was harder than scoring and the other when a looping cross from the left was headed against the post by the Lozells forward.
Half- time brought a great deal of encouragement from the management and a belief that the same level of performance would see Rangers into the final.
If the first half had been very competitive and balanced, the second half was anything but. Rangers totally dominated the half from start to finish. With being strong in defence and totally dominating the midfield battle the second half was comfortable for Rangers.
With goals from the returning but slightly rusty Fazlul, a predatory close range strike from Akbar and a cool finish by Ashley, Rangers put the seal on an excellent all round performance against a Lozells team who on their day can prove to be very dangerous opponents.
A big congratulations to all those involved including those players not named in the first eleven who offered great support from the sidelines. A special mention also to Tariq and midfield trio Shak,Ayaz and Ashley who had tremendous games.
A great day for Rangers to look forward to and with a period of tough league games coming up a great opportunity for all in the squad to stake their claim for a cup final place.
