Sports Comment with Nick Tolerton | Canterbury Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Canterbury

Eric Adam Park, or Rangers Park as it's been for most of its history, isn't a sports ground I should be fond of.

My most vivid memory there is the day the No.2 Son, then about four, whiled away the time doing gymnastics on one of the iron pipe sideline leaners when I was watching a match in the 80s.

Dad's vague entreaties to stop doing that were ignored. The No.2 Son tumbled, and from the white face you knew it was not good.

The upshot: Three hours sitting around A&E; on a Saturday night while they fixed a broken wrist.

Ev went on to bigger and better injuries - staring at the X-ray of his collapsed lung after a lumpy country bumpkin flattened him in a secondary schools hockey match while he shared a ward with guys waiting for triple bypasses was another moment I haven't forgotten in a hurry.

However, it's a bit unfair to dwell on that day at Rangers Park, because the ground's provided some super soccer occasions over the years.

Which makes last week's announcement that it is to be sold after the Rangers-Brighton merger sad news, certainly for older soccer followers.

Tucked away off the street, Rangers Park has always had a great atmosphere and never more so than during the days when Ian Marshall was at the helm and Rangers dominated southern league soccer year after year. There was also that rollercoaster first national league season in 1980 when Ian was also in charge.

After a particularly dreadful performance against North Shore, I upset the Rangers faithful with a match report intro about the Linwood cemetery tombstones on the skyline at Rangers Park being an appropriate symbol for their national league future if they didn't wake up.

I heard that clipping went on the dressing room wall.

At any rate, Rangers never looked back after that and avoided the drop.

When Christchurch United were full of imports, Rangers, like Brighton, relied on kiwis.

The Rangers' spirit in those days was unique. Players like Jeff Blackburn, Malcolm Parker, Ian Cowan, Gordon Faichnie, Grant Hughes, Luke Campfens, and the one and only John Boatwood must have been born in the white and black - they wore it for decades.

John drove refs to valium - once he even got a card converting a penalty.

In the past decade or so, Rangers Park has been quieter. The last big day was perhaps the 1993 Chatham Cup semi-final when hot favourites North Shore came.

It rained for about three days before the match and it didn't stop during it.

Rangers cribbed the only goal to reach their first final. When the bulldozers move in at McGregors Rd, they'll chew up a big slice of Canterbury soccer history. I won't be looking for a leaner to remember it by.