WARRNAMBOOL Rangers captain Raya Rantall says her teammates will be out to have fun in their remaining two Ballarat and District Soccer Association matches after a bitter-sweet weekend.
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The Rangers’ women kept alive their finals chances with a 3-2 win against Forest Rangers at Jones Oval in Warrnambool on Sunday but hours later the excitement turned to disappointment when other results were posted online.
Rantall and her teammates had expected top-side Sebastopol Yellow to defeat third-placed North United White, keeping them in the hunt for a top-four finish with two matches remaining.
But the two higher-ranked sides played a scoreless draw.
“We needed to win to be in the race but we are out of finals contention now,” Rantall said of her side’s fifth-placed standing.
“We can’t make it even if we win our last two games. They will still be one point ahead of us.”
Rantall was proud of her young team’s effort on Sunday when it emerged with the 3-2 win after overcoming a 2-1 half-time deficit.
She said they had spoken about making a big effort in the second half to keep their finals hopes alive.
Rantall said her side started the season without expectations as it rebuilt with a number of young, inexperienced players. But when the Rangers found themselves in contention for finals, they really wanted it.
“It will be the first time we haven’t made finals,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Rangers’ division one men extended their winning streak to 11 consecutive victories with a 9-0 thrashing of Castlemaine on Sunday.
Coach Nick van Rooy was pleased with his side’s performance but conceded it could have been better.
“We had a few players miss easy goals right in front,” he said.
“We played well but didn’t score from free-flowing football, we tended to score from corners.
“Five came from corners. It was great to have the corner stuff going in but it was different to the way we usually get our goals.”
Dechlan Picken scored two goals. Nick van Rooy, Matt van Rooy, Ahmed Ebeid, Lee Sharples and Josh Bourke all chimed in with one each. Two others were own-goals.
The men now play North United at Ballarat on Sunday in a tough test for the Rangers.