Underwhelming Ransomes sealed a win that extended their unbeaten run into 2025 but hardly issued a statement of intent as they toiled to a narrow 2-1 victory. It was ugly, extraordinarily tense, exponentially so, but it should never have been. It only made the release for Ransomes at the very end feel even more dramatic. It was an excruciating game and Ransomes will surely have to play better than this if they are to extend the adventure.
More was expected of Ransomes after they made a lightning start, scoring inside the opening two minutes through Jack Cates. His initial run at goal was halted as he over-run the ball but he tenaciously recovered possession to close in on the visitor’s penalty area, and from an angle left of the goal, his low drive found the far bottom corner. It was the perfect start for the hosts.
Mo Fike then had a looping header bounce off the top of the crossbar and it was a good opening spell for the home side who were showing more energy than the visiting Coplestonians. After that bright start, ultimately, it was a disappointing game – turgid in fact.
Neither side got a grip of the game because they were both inconsistent with the ball. Both teams gave too many balls away with Ransomes consistently caught in possession all over the pitch. As such, they could never get enough positive sequence of actions that could generate threat and momentum in the right areas. It was to become a frustrating afternoon for the meagre gathering in attendance.
Were Ransomes suffering a hangover from last week’s epic semi-final success? If so, Coplestonians could not take advantage. If Ransomes were showing defects then so too were Coplestonians and both teams looked short of ideas as the first half came to an end.
Ransomes started the second half the more sure of the two teams and forcing the early exchanges, with the impressive Anderson in the visitors goal making two good stops in as many minutes to deny Ransomes extending their lead. With the home side failing to finish the game off, concerns lingered as they continued to labour throughout the second half.
There was a sense of inevitabilty about what was to happen next. First, Ransomes enjoyed an almighty let-off on 65 minutes when Coplestonians thought they had equalised but an early offside flag rightly ruled out the goal. Ransomes however, did not heed that warning and disaster struck on 76 minutes as Lister’s speculative shot from 35 yards sailed over Jack Friston’s central position leaving the hosts fearing the worst. That goal stuck in the throat and hinted at problems for Ransomes.
Fear not. Five minutes later and Ransomes made their play. It was an exhilarating run by Ollie Fairs that brought about the transformation. Flicking on the afterburners, his surging run took him to the edge of the Cops penalty area where he unleashed a low drive that Anderson could only parry on the sretch. Luke Andrews was “Johnny-on-the-spot” as he slammed home the loose ball. It wasn’t just that parity didn’t last; it was that it quickly felt like it had never happened at all. For Ransomes, the alarm bells could quieten down for now.
Ransomes weren’t at the level required today to be convincingly better than the opponent but they did just about enough to warrant the win.