Northern Rangers travelled to Montello to take on a re invented Burnie United who were on a 6 game winning streak and would be challenging for the title had it not been for a poor start to the year.

Paul Bremner was out this week after a hat trick last week, disappointing, as his scoring record against Burnie is impressive also.  But this gave Adam Whitemore and Tony Ludby the opportunity to start Patty Lanu-Atkinson up front with Stefan Jago, not a forward line with much size to it, but nimble, fit and fast, with creative flare.  This would eventually be the difference between the two sides, and another piece of coaching master piece from Whitemore.

Burnie had former Ranger Mark Ambrose playing in centre midfield, not his most dangerous position though.  Powerful strike partners in Sam Cocks, Chris Smith and Jeremy deBomford formed a three man forward line that left Burnie vulnerable in defense.

Burnie was turning on its normal windy weather, with the addition of some more rain for the sodden season so far.

Rangers started the stronger in the first half, creating good chances, but to be fair, both sides were going dangerously close early.

Rangers were put in front thanks to a nice build up that ultimately saw Derek Schipper send Patty Lanu-Atkinson on his way on rout to goal, Lanu-Atkinson had little trouble burning off Ashley Smith for pace and had time to set himself and dispatch the shot with only the keeper in front of him, placing it delicately past the keeper for 1-0.

Rangers were starting to command the game, and Whitemore’s efforts to get the side passing quickly and shutting down the opposition in possession was starting to pay off.  But a rare keeping mistake gifted Burnie their only goal of the game when Pooley lost his footing and slipped, fumbling the ball to Chris Smith to tap in.

Rangers continued to the game plan, and it paid off when Todd Hingston again benefited from some perfect delivery, this time from Gabriel Tams’ corner kick, Hingston for the third time in as many games headed home at the back post.

Half time and Rangers held the slender lead, but Burnie were determined to continue their wining streak.  The first 15 minutes of the second half had Burnie dominating play, keeping the ball well and forcing Rangers into making poor decisions by applying strong pressure at every point, but the Rangers weathered the storm and defended well.

After the 60 minute mark, Rangers began wrestle back the ascendancy and took back control of midfield.

With  15 minutes to play, Jago got the goal that gave Rangers some much needed breathing space and Burnie started to drop off the pace considerably.  Even though the game felt safe, Whitemore didn’t risk tinkering with the line up, and made no changes all day.

Rangers ran out 3-1 winners, a massive task complete as Rangers chase back to back premierships.  There is still a lot of work to be done, and Whitemore requested more effort from the senior side, to ensure there can be no regrets come the end of the year.  Rangers are 1 point clear of Devonport who defeated Launceston 3-0 this round with 4 games each still to play, including the last round showdown at the NTCA between the two sides.

Whitemore said after the game,

“Another really good win. Burnie had won their previous 6 league and cup games but we beat them comfortably, at their own ground, and in conditions that suited them more than us.

As in the first game they were asking for trouble with their formation and we were always going to create and score plenty.

They had periods of pressure, especially after half time, but didn't create anything - just long range shots. The goal they got was a fluke, completely down to the conditions. We generally defended well, but need to watch in behind our fullbacks.

 In possession we didn't move the ball as well, or as fast as I'd like and can still play much better in an attacking sense. We dug in though and again showed exceptional mental toughness at key times. Patty Lanu-Atkinson cut them apart and he and Jago were excellent, showing that age (and size) is irrelevant. Todd Hingston again stepped up to dominate when the game was in the balance. 4 games to go. We play positive, attacking football and aim for 4 wins.”

Reserves lost 3-0

Under 18's went down 3-1.