WEAVERHAM Rangers gave a good account of themselves in a tough encounter against an experienced Farn (From Warrington Guardian)

WEAVERHAM Rangers gave a good account of themselves in a tough encounter against an experienced Farn

The team from Widnes featured a number of players with Premier Division and Challenge Cup experience and this showed, as they were able to repel much that Rangers threw at them.

Weaverham started superbly though and penned back Farnworth in their own half for much of the opening period.

But however hard Rangers tried they couldn't break down the visitors' defence and all they had to show was four points from the reliable boot of Steve Lowe.

Andy Wood proved a constant threat for Rangers and with his big hits in defence it looked like Farnworth were not going to breach Weaverham's line.

And it took a freak try to beat the Rangers back line.

A speculative kick held up in the wind allowing a Farnworth winger to hack forward and although the ball seemingly went 'dead in goal', the referee signalled a try.

Rangers did their best to hit back, but too often they gave away possession when they should have been putting pressure on the Farnworth defence.

Time and again as Weaverham's forwards gained momentum the experienced members of the side failed to come up with ideas, resulting in the breakdown of attacks.

Despite Farnworth's superiority it took another speculative kick through to breach Rangers' defence.

A kick forward again held up in the wind and a kind bounce enabled the visitors' loose forward to gather and score out wide.

Farnworth scored again just before half time with poor tackling being the root of the problem.

The start of the second half saw Weaverham put Farnworth on the back foot and with the combination of Andy Butler and Simon Briscall down the right, the visitors had to be on their toes.

But try as they might Weaverham could not make any real headway and seemed devoid of ideas in attack.

This resulted in Farnworth gaining possession in good positions and it proved Rangers' undoing as Farnworth's scrum half scored under the posts to effectively end the game.

Rangers were having none of it though and they battled back with Andy Wood steaming on to a pass to release the impressive Simon Briscall, who clinically finished in the corner.

With the score at 8-20 Rangers were threatening an unlikely comeback and it showed how worried Farnworth were when they came away with a drop goal to finish the scoring for the day.

l RANGERS are undertaking the Three Peaks Challenge during the close season in order to raise funds for the John Blower Trust.

Anyone wanting to sponsor them should contact the club through Roger Pickering on 01606 853935, e-mail rangers@weaverham.zzn.com or visit the website and leave a message on www.weaverham-rangers.co.uk.