Caledonian Braves 2-2 Rangers B: Record crowd sees last gasp Rangers B penalty deny Caledonian Braves famous win

There was late heartache for Motherwell outfit Caledonian Braves on Saturday, when they conceded a last gasp penalty which was to deny them a famous home win over Rangers B.
Braves boss Ricky Waddell was gutted at concession of last gasp goal (Library pic by Michael Gillen)Braves boss Ricky Waddell was gutted at concession of last gasp goal (Library pic by Michael Gillen)
Braves boss Ricky Waddell was gutted at concession of last gasp goal (Library pic by Michael Gillen)

In front of a record 500 crowd in the Lowland League encounter at Alliance Park, Braves led 2-1 heading into the dying stages thanks to goals by Luke Main and Rhys Armstrong.

But Rangers’ second string – who had earlier scored through Alex Lowry – earned a point when Lowry netted his second from the spot after handball had been given against Braves defender Scott Forrester.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"It feels like a defeat in the manner that we lost the goal at the end,” Braves manager Ricky Waddell told Braves TV.

"I think it’s very harsh on Scott. The referee’s pretty adament it’s a penalty kick.

"Very quick to blow for it as well. That said, I couldn’t really see it, I’d need to see it again.

"Scott says he didn’t know what else to do with his arms at that particular point.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"He’s defending the box, they’ve defended the box really well and I’m just gutted for them because they’ve put absolutely everything into that game and only came away with a point.

“I thought we were good in spells of the game in terms of shape and things that we’d worked on through the week.

"It was a really, really good training week actually. We took that into the game, which was a huge positive."

The game had started with Rangers B on the front foot and Charlie Lindsay having a shot deflected wide.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Away keeper Jay Hogarth made a fine save from a Jack Brown free-kick in the final action of the first half.

Braves went 1-0 up a minute into the second half when Main strode forward and shot home.

Hogarth then made an exceptional save from Cameron Breadner before Lowry equalised at the other end with a curling effort.

After Robbie Ure had narrowly missed for the away team, Braves went 2-1 up when Armstrong sent in a terrific curler on 78 minutes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But then came that late sickener for the hosts when Lowry sent his spot kick low into the bottom right corner to end the game with a point apiece.

On Braves’ second goal, Waddell added: “Rhys has got that in his locker, he’s a quality player.

"He’s got a good quality anywhere you pit him on the park.

"He’s a boy that needs to learn as well. He has a long way to go, I know where I think he can go and play, the level he can go and play.

"And I think being at the Braves this year and next year will be really, really positive for him to go and progress his career.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Because I think after that period of time he’s going to fly.

“I’m happy with Rhys’s goal and his overall performance but more so I’m happy with the team’s performance.

"Just a bit disappointed with the result.”

Braves, 10th in the latest Lowland League standings with 32 points from 25 games, get a break from league duties this Saturday as they travel to Abbey Vale in the Southern Counties Cup with kick-off at 2pm.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.