Entertaining draw in the drizzle

Deeping fans were huddled under the covered terracing of the Haydon Whitham Stadium as the drizzle turned heavier approaching kick off.

Their mood wouldn't have been helped by a very early goal for the visitors from a ball over the top.

The finish was neat inside Aaron Butchers near post and the home side were rattled for a good ten minutes or so before getting a foothold in the game.

With David Burton-Jones as centre forward and Josh Sennett and Matt Sparrow (pictured) playing off him, the formation was creating chances although ironically the best ones came from corners causing a few scrambles in the Saints goal mouth.

Parity was restored just before half time when more chaos in the penalty area saw Toby Salmon smash home another pre-season strike.

There was more of the same in the second half with balls from out wide creating chances for Rangers although the best opportunity for a winner came for St Neots who were dangerous breaking with pace through the centre. A strike from the edge of the penalty area tipped on to the post their best effort.

As the substitutions started to flow the game lost a bit of its rhythm and into the final 20 minutes there were one or two tackles on the greasy surface that were a bit heavy for a friendly.

However, the competitive nature of this one will have pleased both Luke Hipwell, Scott Bogusz and their opposite number Cam Mawer.

It's popular for Managers across the leagues to be saying how important "minutes in the legs" are this pre-season and I expect this to be the mantra here.

What this does do is set Rangers up for the derby at Yaxley on Saturday.

There are at least four ex-Cuckoos likely to appear for Deeping in this match and after a 3-0 win over the same opposition last pre-season there is plenty in the mix to make this next game as competitive as last nights.