Tuesday 14th July 2026
Pre-season Friendly – Abbey Rangers (A) 3-2
I wrote ‘My Perfect Season With The Tanners’ very much under the radar. I did it in my own sweet time, unburdened by expectations and deadlines. I was able to watch back YouTube highlights to help with detailed descriptions of the goals, and when it came to nailing down goal times, line-ups, subs, etc, well, I had Football Web Pages – simples! Now, freshly installed as our official Match Reporter, and with the pre-season games coming thick and fast, I haven’t had the luxury of any of those things.
My first couple of reports were compiled from hastily typed notes made on my phone (you don’t want to know what predictive text offered me every time I went to type ‘Anas’…) and I’ve just about got away with it. There must be an easier way though, I thought, and so I bought myself a gadget – a digital dictaphone. I had pictured a scenario in which I might have had to start this report with the 2026 version of “Sorry sir, the dog ate my homework”, but happily, the recording turned out fine, and better still, it survived the transfer/transcription process.
I couldn’t find a train journey to get me to Addlestone Moor in anything less than an hour and a half. It would have involved two changes, then just over a mile’s walk from station to ground, and that was just the outbound journey – I didn’t either bother looking up the return. A twenty-minute drive passed without incident, and there was an abundance of parking on arrival, so taking the car definitely felt like the right choice until I rocked up in the clubhouse to find they were doing a ‘twofer’ on beers. Never mind, my liver will thank me…
I took off on my customary circuit of the ground, and it’s a great little facility. The clubhouse and changing rooms are housed in one building behind the near goal, with picnic benches out front, and there are two good-sized stands with seating along one touchline. Beyond that, there’s a paucity of cover, but it was still in the high twenties and sunny for the duration, so no worries there. Might be a different story on a wet and windy winter’s evening, but the possibility of a cup tie aside, that won’t be our problem this season – Abbey Rangers will be playing in the CCL Prem South, and we all know where we’ll be playing…
Ian Selley went for a largely familiar starting line-up; I counted seven of our title-winners mixed in with new signing Bobby Price at right back, along with three trialists. Understandably, with established players working up to fitness and sharpness, and trialists simultaneously trying to impress while getting on their teammates’ wavelength, it was disjointed at times. However, as the half progressed, Tanners started to put some passes together, along with a few chances. This was more noticeable when Nathan switched flanks with Trialist C after the hydration break…
In one of our better passages of play, Nathan put it on a plate for Trialist A with around half an hour gone. Jacob did well to pick up a loose ball in the midfield, moving it quickly out to Nathan on the left. Regrettably, Trialist A’s shot was sliced, and it went wide when everyone was expecting him to score (especially Nathan, judging by his ‘animated’ reaction). He made amends shortly afterwards though, heading in at the back post. Bobby provided the assist, and it was a thing of efficient and understated beauty. Having received the ball out wide, he feinted to cross with his right, buying himself the brief moment he needed to check back before putting in a wicked inswinger with his left. On a side note, I picked up a useful fact from our commentator, Fin, before the game. In two previous meetings, neither side had scored in the first half – Trialist A, your place in Tanners’ history is secured!
Something I failed to fully appreciate until much later last season was the quality of Jacob’s hold-up play, and his ability to pick a pass. He was at it again on forty minutes, winning the ball in midfield then running with it a short distance before slipping it out left to Nathan. He looked nailed on to score, but he opted for the curler, which went just wide, when it looked like he had the time and space to take it on a step or two and to go for the easier shot.
That was that for the first half, on the pitch at least. Getting to grips with my new gadget, I seem to have left the recording running as Joe and I walked round to the other end. It picked up a fascinating conversation concerning the colour of the Rangers’ keeper’s socks (we settled on ‘surgical stocking tan’), and a failed attempt on my part to convince Joe, that no, he couldn’t get away with another pint, but he’d be fine if he got two halves instead…
Halftime – Abbey Rangers 0, Tanners 1.
The Tanners side that took to the pitch for the second half included six changes. Listing them all would be tedious for me (I’m an awfully slow typist), and for you to read, plus they’ve been on the ‘socials’ for hours. However, it’s fair to say they showed we were serious about upping the ante. Chance after chance duly arrived, and on a different day, we could have won by a cricket score. It didn’t quite pan out that way, of course…
Five minutes into the second half, Kofi surged down the left, showing pace, power and skill. His initial cross didn’t find its mark, but the ball fell kindly to Isaac, who steered it into the bottom right-hand corner for two-nil. Shortly afterwards, it could have been three. Bobby swung over a cross from by the corner flag, but Jacob couldn’t direct his header the right side of the bar.
On fifty-six minutes, and enjoying a rare sortie forward, our hosts got a goal back. Tanners failed to clear a corner, and the ball was played across goal for their man to prod it in at the back post. That was as good as it got for them for the next half hour or so though – Tanners proceeded to fashion a host of opportunities, with Harry and Jacob both going close. Credit to the keeper – he may have dubious taste in hosiery, but he made several good saves to keep his side in it.
With around a quarter of an hour to go, the Tanners restored their two-goal lead. Jacob won it (again) in midfield, and played it through to new dad Anas. He took a touch to make the space he needed, then stroked it low past the keeper into the bottom corner. It could have been four moments later, more accurately reflecting the Tanners’ second-half dominance, but Cam’s bullet header from an Anas corner smacked off the bar. We went similarly close with a free kick from Harry, but the keeper was watching it all the way, and he tipped it over.
A four or five-one scoreline wouldn’t have flattered us, so Rangers will have been pleased to have notched up an unlikely second in the final minutes. Tanners overplayed it at the back, and a loose pass from Cam fell to the Rangers’ Number Four, who lashed it past sub keeper Joe. There was still time for Harry and Kofi to ‘do bits’, both showcasing their skill and comfort in running with the ball. I don’t think I’m alone in looking forward to seeing much more of these two – in addition to what we already had, and with the other new signings, Joe and Bobby, both getting good run-outs, I think we could surprise a few next season…
Fulltime – Abbey Rangers 2, Tanners 3.
So then, four pre-season wins out of four, and my dictaphone had a solid debut – plenty of positives to take from this one. We move on to our next match against Merstham at The Grove on Saturday.
See you there – COYT!
