The Rangers moved to a six win, two loss record in Sunday's 5-3 win against Daylesford and Hepburn United in the Ballarat and District Soccer Association's division one competition, continuing an impressive winning run of form

Pyke - who had to shelve coaching duties on the day and referee the match - said the group is connecting well.

"It was a different perspective from me not coaching and having to referee, but the boys did well to continue with the form and we played some good football," he said.

"We had a few times where we definitely had some lapses and allowed them to get back into it, we had a comfortable 3-1 lead and they got back into it but fortunately we got two more later in the game.

"It's good to have the boys step up without myself being able to coach."

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Ryan Bail was once again a presence scoring twice, linking up with Kane Ackley up front who also managed to find the back of the net twice. The 'impressive' Harry Bermingham also managed to hit the scoreboard, getting one past the keeper playing as a defensive midfielder.

Pyke said while from an attacking perspective there was plenty to like, the group was relishing having a strong and stable defensive unit to steer the ship and steady the team.

"We've built some really great form and it's been on the back of our defence, they're the backbone of the team," he said.

"We did concede a few goals but we put it down to a few errors and that's something we can probably build on at training. But we were able to create chances, and our midfield feed off that as well."

The Rangers women, meanwhile, went down 3-1 at home, ending a strong run of wins.

With several players unavailable, the Rangers toiled hard against Creswick Maroon but couldn't muster enough momentum across the afternoon.

"We only had 10 players - I felt we were probably a bit flat, we'd had three top weeks with only 11 playing and strung three wins together," coach Paul Braithwaite said. "I felt with 10 the wind was out of their sails a bit and we had three out with COVID and a couple returning from COVID.

"It was one of those days, it was only 3-1, so with another one or two players we could have won, but once we got behind it was just hard work."

The Rangers men take on Victoria Park on Saturday night, while the women will rest up over the next few weekends before returning on Sunday June 19 against Maryborough.

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