Clifton Rangers FC

The lads are back in training ahead of the 2024-25 season! Putting in the hard yards, getting match fit and welcoming some exciting fresh faces to

Looking forward to our pre-season fixtures:

⚽️ 30/06 - JDN Technical
⚽️ 07/07 - AFC Broadwater
⚽️ 28/07 - .cleveleys
⚽️ 04/08 -
⚽️ 11/08 - Saddle FC

📍All games Park 3G 3pm ko

This weekend we take on Collegiate Old Boys from Liverpool in the last 16 of the Lancashire Sunday Trophy 🏆 A great achievement from the lads so far but we’ll be doing everything we can on Sunday to progress to the next round! Come down and support the lads 😃

Clifton 3-6 Golden Eagle

⚽️ Mullen
⚽️ Dunleavy
⚽️ Orwin
🏅Orwin

Another loss for the lads on Sunday despite a superb 1st half performance (other than 1st minute 😂). Unfortunately we’ve been here too many times over the past couple of seasons where we aren’t able to sustain our performance levels over a full match and it’s cost us valuable points on many occasion!

We started the game poorly allowing Eagle to tap one in unchallenged in the 1st minute 0-1. This woke the lads up and we went on to dominate the 1st half and had enough chances to put the game to bed. Mullen getting us back on terms with a great strike 1-1, followed 10mins later by a volley from Liam through the GK’s legs and into the back of the net 2-1. Mullen then had a shot glanced off the cross bar and Liam twice found himself unmarked 6yds out but unfortunately failed to find the back of the net with the headers 2-1 HT

Second half was a different game, Eagle scored early again to level at 2-2. This time we didn’t react and Eagle had the momentum - shortly after taking the lead 2-3 and finishing with a flurry before Harvey grabbed a late consolation following great work by Tyler. 3-6 FT

Frustrating especially after a good 1st half however Eagle were superb in the second half and we just didn’t get going after the break - must be the managers inspirational half time team talk 😂

There were some good performances Sunday, namely Mullen getting back his match fitness, Jamie unplayable in the 1st half, Liam worked his socks off up front and the central defensive partnership of Damo and Harvey played well despite never playing together at CB before. Mom goes to Harvey who was solid throughout (despite the scoreline 😂) and bagged his 3rd goal of the season - not bad for a CB 👍

Lancs Cup Rd of 16 up next this Sunday 👍

🎅 𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗞 𝗙𝗠 - 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗠𝗔𝗦 🎅

This year Clifton Rangers JFC is working with Rock FM supporting Mission Christmas 🎄

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 ?

It’s Rock FM's annual appeal, that invites communities across Lancashire to buy an extra gift during the festive season to help thousands of disadvantaged children across the county.

Thousands of children are living in poverty. So many are at risk of waking up without presents to open because Christmas is a luxury their families can't afford.

It'll be just like any other day 😢

Together, we'll be able to make a real difference for children across Lancashire who could wake up to no gifts on Christmas Day.

What ideas do you have as a team let’s us know !

A percentage of sales from our Christmas Raffle will be used to buy presents for Mission Christmas.

The official launch is tomorrow. More details to follow 🎁

97.4 Rock FM

It’s been a while but we’re back in league action this week vs Golden Eagle 👍

Clifton 3-3 Wythenshawe FC
(Clifton Win 4-2 on Pens)

⚽️ Lee
⚽️ Harvey
⚽️ Jamie
🏅 Mom Hembo

3rd round of the Lancashire Cup and a road trip to Manchester to take on Wythenshawe FC!

The club kind enough to lend us the Clifton fun bus we set off early doors to get to Manchester in time for kick off…that went well 😂 we spent the first hour of the trip stuck on the M55 waiting for a police incident to clear - time for the lads to catch up on some 💤

We finally got on our way arriving at the ground late with no time for pre-match prep and missing 4 lads who’d taken the scenic route!! 🤦‍♂️ The ref going on holiday after the game so we needed to get going asap playing only 40mins each way! Every minute of warm up being taken off game time 😂

First ten mins we were playing well, on top moving the ball well and creating chances! Then a bizarre moment when the ref on the pitch next to us blew his whistle and our lads stopped playing just as the Wythenshawe winger crossed into the box for their striker to tap in - not our refs whistle and 0-1 👎🤦‍♂️

This put Wythenshawe in the ascendency and within 15mins they’d stretched to a 3-0 lead! Massively disappointing after our start to the game and the morning we’d had but understandable in the circumstances - we needed half time to reset!

During the break we made some tactical and player changes and came out ready to give it a go! Straight away looking more like ourselves, controlling the game and moving the ball as best we could on the boggy pitch. It took us around 25mins to get one back - Lee taking a shot from 20yds which trickled through to the GK who kindly let it roll through his legs 😂 3-1 and game on! In the immediate aftermath Tyler retrieved the ball only for their GK to kick out and get sent off 🟥 10 mins later Jake took a corner and there was Harvey to get on the end of it with a signature 3yd toe poke into the net 3-2 and we’re all over them!

With less than a minute remaining Jamie picked the ball up and drove at the defence before striking a screamer from 25yds that nearly broke the net!! Keeper had no chance! 3-3 and the come back was complete!! On to penalties…

Over the last few seasons we’ve had lots of experience of pens so we were confident - especially with Hembo in net!! And so it proved Liam, Tyler, Joe stepping up to convert their pens and Hembo saving two of their pens…up stepped Captain Matt to win it for us and he slammed the ball into the top corner!!! Putting us into the hat for the Lancs Cup 4th round - the first time we’ve made it this far!!

A happier road trip home 🍻 and to finish off our Manchester football themed day back to the pub to watch Utd taking their medicine 😂👍

Great day with the lads! Some top performances especially 2nd half but Hembo gets man of the match for his saves in the shoot out and making some important saves during the game! Top lad 🧤

Lancs Cup 3rd round action and a road trip for the lads this Sunday vs Wythenshawe FC. Lads aren’t ecstatic about the early start but I’m sure the mini bus will be buzzing! 👍💪

Clifton 1-6 Fleetwood

⚽️ Tyler
🏅Mom Ryan

Lovely day down at Thornton FC’s home ground playing against one of the leagues toughest teams Fleetwood FC.

Facilities are superb around the club house, even spoiling us with our own changing room however the recent weather turned the home dug out and warm up area into a swamp!! 😂

As expected Fleetwood started strong, their midfield (dominated by West Lancs Prem Thornton FC players) slicing through our midfield line at will - the pressure paying off with a through ball being latched onto and slotted home 0-1. We were slow to start but we started getting back in the game, pressing the ball, defending resolutely and hitting them on the break…. 30mins in a diagonal ball from Bails, picked up by Jake on the left and crossed into Tyler who slotted home - great move 1-1! The lads continued to defend well and earned being level at half time 💪

The second half shows how moments change matches…10mins in an attempt to pass out from the back was intercepted and finished by Fleetwoods striker 1-2…hard to take after all the hard work in the 1st half.

Despite this the lads continued to work and create chances - Liam going clean through but for a last ditch challenge would have had a great chance to equalise and shortly after Ryan again clean through 1 on 1 with the keeper but unfortunately failed to notch 👎 Being so close and feeling a goal was coming was even more disappointing when Fleetwood went back down the other end and took a 3-1 lead.

This took the wind out of our sails and the rest is history. Disappointing result in the end but proud of the lads today - gave everything and mixed it with one of the best teams in the league for 75mins.

Some great individual performances, not a day for pretty football but a day for tracking our men, pressuring, being physical and getting stuck in. One guy who deserves his Mom is Ryan who fought, battled and left everything on the pitch!! 💪

Onwards to the Lancs Cup 3rd Rd next Sunday! 🏆

Up next a physical test against Fleetwood FC this Sunday 💪

21st Century 1 Clifton 1

A lovely crisp day for a game of football on the 3G at Stanley Park, a full squad and sub options so all set fair for a good game. A definite game of two halves 21st were by far the better team in the first half we never got going passing was not as crisp as it can be and to be honest we did well to go in level at half time 0-0
Second half Century had one effort of note two men unmarked to nod home at the back post 0-1. We poured forward the opposition keeper made some fine stops we hit the post two efforts off the line before Scott popped up to hold and turn on a sixpence to fire home 1-1. How we didn't go on and win the game i really don't know its a game we could and should of put to bed so to be fair 2 points dropped.

MOTM Bails great game today some surging runs and crosses well done!!!!

Good luck to 21st for the season a good set of lads

Clifton 7 Poulton 0

Lancashire Cup 2nd Round

Lovely day at commomedge for our game against Poulton, pitch had been trimmed still lumpy but hey ho same for both teams. A convincing win in the end against Poulton and credit to them as they kept going to the end and a good set of lads good luck to them for the rest of the season.
The story of the game:

We played some lovely football spreading the ball around and pressing the opposition we soon opened the scoring through Tyler with a superb cross from Bailey 1-0. 1Bails then put in a crap cross that sailed into the top corner 2-0., we continued to attack and remained solid at the back which is even more amazing given that the back line totals around 90 years!!!!! Not to be outdone with the worst cross of the game Jake bettered Baileys by putting in a crapper cross that also sailed into the top corner 3-0 half time. Solid performance with no dramas!

The 2nd half much of the same solid throughout and played some l;ovely football spraying the ball at will. Soon it was 4-0 with Liam finishing off a great move with a cool finish soon after it was 5-0 a game of ping pong in the Poulton penalty area which was like a scene from the chuckle brothers saw Big Harv react quickest which wasn't very quick to slam home from a foot well done Lurch. A sublime cross from Liam picked out the Hungarian Hotshot who rose like a pregnant salmon to head home 6-0. The icing on the cake soon after with Scott being taken out from behind which is a regular occurence for him stonewall penalty. He was about to take the kick when Matt ran the whole length of the pitch pleading to take the penalty Scott felt sorry for Matt as he usually scores in his own net so some pressure on him but he cooly sent the keeper the wrong way 7-0 and the final score.
Great performance a hopefully a nice little away trip in the 3rd Round.
MOTM Damo quality at the back faultless performance

I cant finish without a couple of comedy quotes today:

Harvey "Lurch" Orwin asked Jamie Benson Baboon Brookfield if he was ok? Jamie responded im fine why? Harvey responded then run you fat lazy C**t now Harv is a lovely lad but with respect not the brightest star in the sky but belting banter.

Finally Jule Brookfield Benson Baroness of Haweside who said you cannot beat a good sq**rt wtf!!! This resulted in some people who were watching another game turning round after such a comment laughing and one poor woman nearly choking on her brew.

Attendance:

4 Blokes
3 Women
1 Squirter
1 Yorkshire Bird (My lovely wife)
Giz the dog milking the photos again

Big thanks to Adam Gee Photography for the pics giving up his Sunday morning to come down, and also the Ref who had a great game.

We’re in Lancashire Cup 2nd round action this Sunday vs AFC Poulton. Despite this being our 2nd time in 3 seasons we’ve kicked off an away Lancs Cup fixture at Common Edge the lads are well up for it! Hopefully we can progress and get ourselves an away day road trip 🚗✈️🚂

Clifton 1 - 3 Foxhall

⚽️ Tyler

Disappointing return to Common Edge for the lads on Sunday vs Foxhall FC - Open Age. A well contested game with plenty of action caught on camera thanks to Louise @ Grassroots Media Channel

Midway through the first half Foxhall’s left forward broke the offside trap passing to their striker who slotted neatly past our GK. 10 mins later we were back on term with Bails crossing a superb ball into Tyler who slotted home from 6yds. 1-1 at half time or so we thought - with practically the last touch of the half Foxhall’s ex Clifton man crossed from the left, our clearance was miss hit sending the ball into our own net - Joel Matip eat your heart out!!! 1-2 HT

Into the second half and we never got going, barely threatening the Foxhall goal - the wind taken out of our sails by the goal just before half time. In our pursuit of an equaliser Foxhall capitalised and scored a third 1-3 FT

To add insult to injury (literally) Gav challenged for a header towards the end of the game landing awkwardly and breaking his arm! Huge blow for the lad and a massive loss for the team for the forseeable! We wish him all the best! 👍

Huge thank you again to Louise Natalie for the pic and good luck to Foxhall 👍

On to the Lancashire Cup next week 👍

A couple of weeks since our last game but the lads are ready and looking forward to this Sunday when we take on Foxhall FC - Open Age

The game has been selected for coverage by Grassroots Media Channel so get yourselves down and support the lads 👍

Clifton 3-2 AFC Dunes

⚽️⚽️ Tyler
⚽️ Ryan

🏅MoM Ryan

Back on a pitch we know so well against a team we know so well having had some great battles over recent seasons!

Despite starting the game well it was Dunes who took the lead following our scrappy play at the back 0-1. Ryan had a spectacular effort to draw level with an overhead scissor kick which struck the post. Shortly after we didn’t clear our lines allowing Dunes to poke in a second from close range 0-2 HT. Lads frustrated and disappointed at half time knowing we were better than our current performance and had a point to prove in the 2nd half.

And so it was to be, the lads largely dominating play in the 2nd half. A Dunes defender handling the ball in the box gave us a penalty which Tyler cooly finished 1-2. The lads now sensed we could get something out of the game, Scott was unlucky as his goal shortly after was deemed not to cross the line by the ref but it had crossed but hit the inside wheel mechanism of the goal and bounced back out…not to be deterred 10 mins later Bailey whipped in a superb ball from the left to Tyler who headed past the keeper from 15yds out 2-2..no doubting that goal…game on!

Not content with a draw we pressed forward to get the win. Our pressure told and with 5mins remaining Gav crossed from the right into Ryan who met the ball with the perfect header into the top corner to secure the win 3-2 💪

All round good performances today, great to have a recognised GK between the sticks, encouraging to see Tyler getting his match fitness, a luxury to have quality come on from the bench and another Mom performance from Ryan who’s a machine in the middle of the park!! On the 2nd half alone the lads deserved their win today, if we can cut out the mistakes and stop gifting teams goals the last two performances show we can do well this season 👍

The lads are in action vs AFC Dunes tomorrow, get yourselves down to Stanley Park to cheer us on 👍

Armfield 4 Clifton 2

Away game at unity against Armfield one of the big hitters in the Prem tough game but we go and have a go. Big pitch and a good crowd with the sun shining all set for a good game.
Turns out we werent affected by our more technical opposition as they didn't have it there own way and we gave a very good account of ourselves. Would have been closer if a couple of decisions had gone our way but hey ho thats football!!!
3-0 down at half time yes the better team in front but we defended well and got stuck in big shout out to Alfie who put in a great shift and Liam up front who never stopped running and moaning !!!
We pilled a goal back from Alfie who was well on side to slot home despite the protests we conceded a pen 4-1 but MOTM Joe nearly got to it unlucky and a big shout out for his efforts between the sticks also encouraging the lads and commanding his area great to see. Jamie Benson Brookfield Squire of Hawes Side Lane then planted a peach of a free kick into the bottom left corner 4-2. We had a couple of chances after that but final score was 4-2.

No disgrace today got stuck in never gave in never moaned and worked for each other came off th pitch having given there all just as good as a win well done everyone today!

Credit to the ultras who numbered 10 today great effort in the thunder and rain

Next up this Sunday we have tough fixture vs last seasons league champions Armfield FC who remain unbeaten so far this season 💪

Clifton 2 - 6 The Albion

⚽️ Tyler
⚽️ Scott

Not a game to remember for the lads last Sunday ending in a disappointing defeat to The Albion.

Albion started strong but it was Clifton who took the lead through Tyler who latched on to a through ball from Bailey and slotted past the keepers left. 10 mins later it was Clifton who scored again, Alfie thundering a shot off the post which fell to Scott who slotted the ball into the net! 2-0!

From this point things started to unfold and more mistakes crept into our game, either side of the break long balls by the GK awkwardly bouncing over our stand in GKs head allowing a tap in for the Albion strikers. More sloppy play allowed Albion in for a 3rd and the rest is history 😂

In the end a well deserved victory for Albion 👍

Our 4th game of the season sees us take on The Albion (formerly Little Black Pug) at the home of football Boundat Park 😃 Come down and support the lads 👍

Clifton 0 Inter H 9

Not a lot to say today other than we were beaten by a better team who were quicker to the ball passed and moved well and overall they were too good for us. We made too many mistakes gifting the opposition a two goal start. We played well in parts and had a couple of good chances but not our day today on the pitch.
We need to try and cut out the mistakes be loud and encourage on the pitch and not blame each other for errors. Next week another tough one against Albion (Black Pug) a game we can go and win so hoping for a better collective performance next week.
Thanks for the support nice to see a few ultras pitchside.

MOTM Bails quality today worked hard and never gave in

After a disappointing result last week we’re hopeful of having a few players back from injury and holidays to take on last seasons Revival Tattoo Trophy winners Inter Halfway 💪

Clifton 0 Ale House 3

Back to our home ground which should be named Bumpy Park and not Boundary Park pitch was a shocker but hey ho same for both teams.
Not much to say about the game other than we were beaten by the better team but to be honest on another day goals change games several times we were on 1 on 1 with the keeper but the through ball was a touch too heavy. We were always going to be up against it no recognised keeper but credit to Levandowski for doing his best 11 lads and one sub including Mullen by his own addmission was blowing out of arse after 20 minutes gave us no options to change it. Big Naz cant make a silk purse out of a sows ear despite all his efforts and encouragement in several languages. Couple that with the fact Alehouse had 6 subs on the bench chomping at the bit but resorted to making daisy chains and sunbathing it was always going to be tough.
Simply we need more bodies on match day to have those options to change things, the lads cannot be faulted for effort and they kept going to the end plenty of effort but just not our day.
MOTM Liam at the back was outstanding not only his workrate and never shirking a challenge he encouraged for the whole 90 leading the back line who were excellent despite the score. In my opinion without his input the heads would of dropped long before.

Attendance:

Ella
1 Bloke
1 Dog
Grandad Glitter
Poor today need to sell more tickets for next week!!!!

Shout out to Naz stand in coach today team talk was brill !!!
Also thanks to the ref Jimmy Taylor who was quality as always top ref and a nice bloke keeping the chirpy chirpy cheep cheep quiet.

After a good win at the weekend the lads are ready to go on Sunday vs No 10 Ale House Blackpool & Kitchen👍 Its set to be a cracking game!! Only a couple of weeks ago since we played in a friendly which we narrowly lost 3-2.

Clifton 3 Lytham 0

First game of the season at our home Boundary Park which hasn't changed still the same amount of lumps, pot holes and dog poo!!!!
Up against the old Trilanco who were a good side so a tough game in prospect. However we cruised to victory with few alarms to record a comfortable win.
Some new faces have certainly added steel and quality to the team and we controlled the game from the off. We opened the scoring with a nice finish from Big Ry shortly followed by a screamer from Tyler cruising at 2-0. We were comfortable from back to front and great to see Jakub looking like a mexican bandit in nets all the lads put in a shift for the full 90 minutes. The second half was much of the same with Big Ry completing the scoring with a neat finish 3-0lots of chances to add to the score but not to be running out comfortable winners in the end. Good luck to Lytham for the season good bunch of lads and played the game in the right spirit.

MOTM Lee Robbo who was outstanding at the back didn't put a foot wrong and great timing to his tackling quality!!!!

Home Attendance 12 Ultras, 1 Dog and a Dancing Grandad

Action shots from Wed nights friendly vs JDN Technical courtesy of Jimmy Palmer Appreciate the pics mate 👍

After 3 months we’re back in league action this Sunday kicking things off against AFC Lytham 👍 The lads are in good shape and looking to start the season strong 💪