Vale beat Dale

Vale Rec 2, Rangers 0

GIFTED two soft goals in the opening half hour, John Reid's new-look Vale Rec side gave Rangers a quick reminder that they are far from a top Priaulx side yet. After beating North in their opening game, Mac Gallienne's men will have fancied taking another three points from their trip to the Corbet Field last night.

But a woeful showing left Gallienne scratching his head and wondering what went wrong. The answer: most things.

With Jon Veron sidelined by a minor hamstring injury and Ross Allen also missing as he prepares to have another crack on the US football scene, Rangers gave a surprise start to Dale Garland.

But it required more than the athlete and former Muratti striker to lift Rangers out of this particular hole they dug themselves as early as the 10th minute when a careless trip gave Gareth Holden the chance to shoot his side ahead from the spot. He duly obliged.

On 30min. Rec doubled their lead. Phil Sarl missed a straightforward intervention, keeper Chris Parrott was left in no-man's land and Robbie Titterington finished well with a lobbed shot into the far corner.

Vale seldom looked like scoring again but nor did Rangers for whom Garland, not surprisingly, threatened with his pace and power, but all too intermittently and without any support.

Garland thought he might have won an early penalty but the impressive Neil Lunn waved that claim aside.

In a second half of even fewer chances than the first, Holden and Titterington went closest while Jody Bisson might have brought a bedtime book along, so untroubled was his goal.