Bob Rayner reports on a hard fought but fair F.A. Cup tie at the B.E.P. Stadium.

The expectations for a good hard cup-tie were high going into this FA Cup preliminary round tie against fellow step five club, Ascot United. United and Rangers faced up to each other with impressive records during the last two Covid hit seasons and the match certainly lived up to its billing, with both sides having chances to win the game. Rangers will be the happier no doubt, having played for 85 minutes with only ten men after the dismissal of midfielder, Davis Haule for what appeared to be kicking out after being brought down. It was fairly innocuous but the referee applied the letter of the law and there could be no arguments. For the Rangers fans it was a case of deja vu after being reduced to ten men after 20 minutes in the previous round for a similar offence by Alex Kedzierski, versus Lydney Town. That time the outcome was different, with Rangers emerging winners by a brilliant Sean Coles goal. Ascot United are no Lydney Town however and they could have capitalized on a couple of good chances in the first half. Rangers were never out of the game though and carved out chances of their own and could have snatched it late in the second half.

The first real action of the first half was after 5 minutes when Davis Haule received his red card. Credit should go to Rangers' manager, Mark Eaton, as he resisted the temptation to shuffle his pack and encouraged his players to continue in a four, two, three formation , and it was the pair of Adam Morris and Asher Yearwood in midfield that played a huge part in ensuring that the Rangers' back four were not overrun. 13 minutes in and the first chance fell to Ascot's Laflin, who headed wide when well placed. Several minutes later and Scott dragged his shot wide when latching onto Rangers' keeper Jack Brooker's punch. Rangers soon hit back with Lewis Patrick's cross from the left being headed over the bar for a corner by the United defence, the resultant corner being headed away. Rangers' Brian Haule gave cause for concern, heading Morris' corner goal-bound, the ball deflecting off of a team-mate for a goal-kick. A corner at the other end saw Brooker make a good save off Morgan with the rebound hit well over the bar. Right on half time Davies should have scored for Ascot following a long throw, his effort bobbling across the face of the goal.

With the notorious slope in their favour Rangers started brightly when Marcus Wyllie robbed his marker to set up Haule, who shot weakly at Gray in the Ascot goal. It was a good chance and one that the normally reliable centre-forward would put away. United forced a couple of corners in quick succession after a great block from Rangers defender, Josh Urquhart; the first seeing Morgan force Brooker into a good save and the second headed well wide. Ascot took the lead in the 57th minute after what looked a harsh penalty award. A low cross from the Rangers' right struck full back Bertie Squires-Adams on the arm and the referee pointed to the spot. Laflin rifled the kick into the net despite Brooker getting his finger tips on the ball. Rangers didn't take long to get back into the match and three minutes later they were level. Morris drilled another of his pacy corners into the area and Haule met it with his forehead to drill it home. Soon after, skipper Joel Read almost scored with an audacious free kick from the halfway line that saw Gray just scramble back in time to tip the ball over. It was nothing new for regulars at the BEP, having witnessed their skipper score in similar fashion on several occasions. United hit back with August scuffing his shot wide following a low cross. Rangers countered with Wyliie's shot blocked by a good challenge. Sam Pekun then forced Gray into a very good save low down. Ascot had a short spell of pressure but the Rangers' defence again stood firm, showing why they have such a proud defensive record. With five minutes left Yearwood did brilliantly to intercept a cross, conceding a corner which was easily dealt with. In the last five minutes though it was ten man Rangers that finished the stronger. Haule's flick found the impressive Schmidt, whose volley whistled over the bar, then Wyllie should have scored after he cut inside, rode a challenge and produced a good save from Gray for a corner. Finally, Laurence Clark’s free kick went all the way through a crowd of players, needing just a touch, before reaching the grateful arms of Gray.

The Rangers players should be rightfully proud of their performance against a good side, after losing the influential Haule so early on, but they will respect that there is still a big job to do on Tuesday if they are to progress; and they must learn to not keep shooting themselves in the foot! Ascot will no doubt be a little disappointed that they couldn't take advantage of the situation, but they will be happy to be on their own patch for the replay, where they have the advantage of the 3G pitch. It promises to be another cracking game.

Rangers Man of the Match: Everyone put in a shift and it would be unfair to pick one player out. The MOM goes to all ten players plus the three substitutes that came into a difficult game and played such big part.