Faced with a 2-0 deficit at halftime, Keith Morn knew his Macleay Valley Rangers needed to produce a special 45-minutes to earn the victory in their major semi-final with Port United.
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The away side were all over the Rangers.
They were playing at a high level of intensity, controlling possession and territory.
However, football is a game of two halves.
Macleay Valley’s passes began to stick in the second stanza and they played further up the field, forcing Port onto the backfoot.
The momentum swing counted on the scoreboard when Andrew Potter slotted the ball past the keeper after receiving a cutback from Sam Applegate.
The Rangers kept producing attacking raids for the majority of the second half but it wasn’t until the final 10-minutes when they levelled the scores.
Potter was brought down by a United defender inside their 18-yard-box and a penalty was awarded.
John Henry stepped up and calmly slotted the goal with 8-minutes remaining.
The Rangers didn’t sit back, they searched for the winner in regulation but the match was destined for extra-time.
The first half of the added period was similar to the second half of regulation, the Rangers were on top and pressuring the United goal.
Port scrambled well to remain in the contest but the game was broken open in the second half of extra-time.
Rangers’ x-factor Applegate produced a magical moment to remember.
The striker received the ball 30-yards from goal, beat five defenders and fired the ball from 22-yards out.
The goalkeeper didn’t stand a chance as the Rangers took a 3-2 lead with 7-minutes left.
“No goalkeeper would have stopped it, he wouldn’t have even seen it,” Rangers coach Morn said.
Macleay Valley then booked a date with Wallis Lake in a grand final qualifier when Potter grabbed his second of the game to put the icing on the cake of a remarkable comeback 4-2 victory.
Morn was ecstatic with his side’s finish to the game.
“We were poor in the first half, they controlled the game and had more of the ball and field position,” Morn said.
“But they used all their effort in the first half and ran out of energy after that.
“The game changed in the second half, everything was going our way and we dominated them for the rest of the match.”
The Rangers conceded their first goal 12-minutes into the game.
Kurt Riordan challenged for the ball inside the box and was ruled by the linesman to have brought down a United attacker illegally.
Port opened the scoring from the penalty spot.
Their second goal game minutes later as the United striker received a through ball in behind the Rangers defence and connected with a teammate inside the six-yard box who found the back of the net.
Port continued to pressure the Rangers goal for the remainder of the opening half but Macleay Valley scrambled well to prevent them from extending their lead.
The Rangers will face Wallis Lake this Saturday at 2.30pm, the venue wasn’t finalised at the time of print.
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