GORNAL Athletic won the Midweek Floodlit Cup with a clinical win over Black Country Rangers.

Marvin Nisbett put the Peacocks in front midway through the first half when he bundled home after Rangers failed to clear Matt Martin’s corner.

Pete Wood’s stunning long-range effort doubled the lead before the break and Kristian Green made it three early in the second half.

Rangers hit the bar on three occasions but it was Gornal’s night to celebrate.

This was a strange game and a surreal night featuring the cream of the West Midlands Premier League.

There can be few bleaker sights in football than Damson Park in the freezing cold but at the final whistle it was lit up by the joy of manager Ian Rowe and his Gornal players. It was a night of triumph soundtracked by the constant drone of planes landing at nearby Birmingham International Airport, merged with the rhythm and beats of the band emanating from the adjacent clubhouse.

The scoreline doesn’t really tell the story, for the game was actually a lot closer.

Had Steve Bowes 23rd minute piledriver dipped under James Pemberton’s bar instead of clattering it, things might have been very different.

Three minutes later Nisbett put Gornal ahead and roused Rowe’s men from what up till then had been a sleepy performance. From then on the Peacocks capitalised on the breaks when they came their way and that in the end was the difference.

This was the fourth time these teams, who have dominated the West Midlands Premier, have faced off this season and its now two victories apiece. The league title is set to play deciding rubber over the coming weeks.

Gornal defender Connor Gater had the first legitimate attempt on goal with an acrobatic effort but in the opening quarter it was mostly Rangers doing the attacking.

Bowes’ first effort was simple for Pemberton and he then just missed getting on the end of an Alex Hammond cross, in an ominous sign of what was to come for the Rangers skipper.

Shane Parkes rushed a shot over the bar after Gornal struggled to clear their lines, while Gater was forced to react quickly to block from Bowes.

Moments later the striker was inches from opening the scoring when he picked the ball up 30 yards from goal and with no-one around him, let fly with a stunning effort which Pemberton could only watch clatter against the bar.

Three minutes later, Gornal were in front. At this point the Peacocks had only looked threatening through Martin’s inswinging corners and when the Rangers defenders allowed one to drop in the six yard box, Nisbett was there to force the ball home.

Taking the lead seemed to galvanise Gornal and Wood was forced to palm a long-range attempt from Matt Martin round the post.

But Rangers still looked threatening and should have levelled, only for Bowes to mis-kick horribly after meeting a Dave Meese cross six yards out.

Another chance went begging soon after. Gater was caught in possession, allowing Bowes to break and tee up Liam Hughes but Pemberton proved equal to the shot.

Gornal were also guilty of profligacy. An inviting Nisbett cross found Matt Martin at the far post but both he, Calum Martin and then Nisbett somehow failed to score from inside the six yard box.

The clubhouse band were at that moment playing Jailhouse Rock and Rangers must have felt they had escaped further punishment, only to be hit by a stunner from Wood 90 seconds later. The left-back picked the ball up 35 yards out and though the shot did bounce before hitting the bottom corner, the speed and accuracy meant his namesake in the opposition goal remained rooted to the spot.

Rampant Gornal felt they had a third in first half stoppage time. Again the Rangers defence failed to deal with a corner and skipper Chris Waterhouse headed the bouncing ball against the bar, with his team-mates vociferously appealing the ball had crossed the line.

Once again, it was a moment which didn’t matter as Green hit the target just eight minutes into the second period. The right-back advanced down the wing and whipped in a fierce centre which looped over Wood and into the far bottom corner.

Stunned Rangers poured forward in numbers and Bowes was twice more left with his head in his hands, first hitting the bar with another fierce shot and then seeing Pemberton palm away a dipping free-kick.

Even the elements couldn’t quite help Rangers enough. A Hammond free-kick was caught in the wind and dipped viciously, only to hit the bar.

When Meese planted a free header wide from six yards out with 15 minutes to go, the game was up and Gornal saw the remaining time out in relative comfort.

GORNAL: Pemberton, Green, Wood, Gater, Waterhouse (c), Young (Weyman 76), Perks, Wherton, Nisbett, Martin C (Craven 85), Martin M (Wilkhoo 79) subs not used: Keates, Nicholls.

Goals: Nisbett 26, Wood 38, Green 53.

RANGERS: Wood, Hurdman (Harris 24), Hammond, Garner, Parkes, Meese, Roberts (Bladen 72), Pardoe, Hughes, Oakley, Bowes (c) subs not used: Kenerdy, Gould, Skelding.