Rangers do the double with Bishop's Cup win 

One of the best Bishop’s Cup finals in many years saw Heigham Park Rangers clinch a league and cup double against Norwich St John’s in a six-goal thriller on Saturday May 13 at The Nest near Norwich. Keith Morris reports.

Norfolk Christian Football League winners Heigham Park Rangers, from St Thomas Norwich, were taking on cup holders Norwich St John’s (St John the Baptist Cathedral) in a much-anticipated clash at the Nest in Horsford in front of a crowd of around 100 people.
 
An evenly contested first half saw Rangers take the lead after 25 minutes through Joshua Buttery to go in 1-0 at half time.
 
Rangers came out strongly in the second half and doubled their lead through Charlie Wade before St John’s got themselves back into the game through Liam Emerick.
 
Charlie Wade restored Ranger’s two goal lead on 75 minutes to lead 3-1.
 
With just two minutes of normal time to go, Ben Simons snatched a dramatic second for St John’s and it was game on once again. After four minutes of injury time, Rangers' nerves were eased as Charlie Wade completed his hat-trick to lead his team to a 4-2 victory.
 
It was a first-ever cup win for Rangers and a first league and cup double. Victorious Rangers manager, Tom Woods, said: “First half we came out of the blocks very quickly and played some really good football. Credit to St John’s who stayed in the game and some heroic defending made it a really exciting game.
 
“Second half we scored at a really good time when St John’s were on top. They got a goal back and we were never comfortable until the fourth went in.
 
“The game was played in the sort of spirit where it was competitive and nobody was giving an inch but there was plenty of respect there which is lovely to see,” said Tom.
 
League chairman Mile Culwick, speaking after the game, said: “It is the best final I can remember seeing and the quality of the football was fantastic throughout with just one yellow card.”
 
League secretary, Paul Nice, said he thought the day went well: “It was a competitive game played in the right way and thanks as always to the officials for coming along to help us. There was an end-of-season celebratory feel and congratulations to Heigham Park on winning the double. St John’s really played well and made Rangers work right to the end of the game.
 
Reflecting on a challenging season, Paul said: “The league had a difficult start to the season losing our stalwart Alan Barnes in September and then coming back from a very dry summer and not being able to use pitches until October and then losing the whole of December to bad weather.
 
“Throwing all those issues into the mix I feel very pleased that everyone across the league has worked together to get the games played. It was very competitive season with, at one point, four teams in with a chance of winning the league – Rangers, Eaton Eagles, St John’s and South Walsham St Mary’s.”
 
Pictured above are cup winners Heigham Park Rangers. Click here or below to see a full picture gallery of the final.