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Saturday 26 April 2003 - Marsden Road - kick off 3.00pm Dr Martens Premier Division 
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| half-time: 0-2 | result: L0-5 | attendance: 982 |
| team: | Bryant, Bennett, Trought (Honor 45), Coupe, Kemp (Gosling 54), Rollo, Milsom (c), Harvey, Eaton, Tweddle (Cleverley 72), Shore. subs not used: Jefferies, James. |
| man of the match: | Matt Coupe |
| scorers: | none |
| bookings: | Eaton (32), Bennett (38) |
| officials: | M Bell (Rotherham), D Evans (Sheffield), J Waugh (Sheffield) |
| league position: 13th | form: DLDWDL | next match: Havant (A) |
Having allowed the Dr Martens Premier Division winners Tamworth to put six goals past them earlier in the season City just about managed to avoid a similar fate against the runners-up Stafford Rangers, with Mark Bryant 'only' having to pick the ball out of the net five times on this occasion. Although defensively City never got to grips with Stafford's strong and direct approach their cause was not helped by losing three defenders to injury during the game. The last of which meant they had to play the closing 13 minutes with just ten men having already used their three substitues. The unfortunate trio were Mike Trought, Gary Kemp and, most seriously with a bad knee injury, Chris Honor. It was during the closing period when City were short-handed that Rangers grabbed their third, fourth and fifth goals.
Trought had replaced Honor in the starting line-up from the Weymouth draw five days earlier with the one other change seeing top scorer Jason Eaton recalled in place of Jamie Gosling. The pattern of the game was clear from the opening minutes as the home side won a corner after just 45 seconds and from it nearly took the lead. Gibson's centre was flicked onto Barrow only for Bryant to block his point-blank effort. This escape was only temporary though as four minutes later from another corner an unmarked Daniel headed home. Just another five minutes had passed when Murphy should have done better than shot wide after Davidson's neat knock-down. City were struggling to contain their hosts but as the half wore on they finally began to get into the game. Drew Shore saw a 23rd minute shot deflected narrowly wide and Kemp's looping header from a Trought free-kick was well claimed by keeper Price. Stafford responded with a header from Murphy that Bryant turned away spectacularly. Heath almost got clear only for Matt Coupe to deny him with a well-timed tackle. Murphy also clipped the top of the bar with a looping shot. Just as it was looking as if City would reach the break just a single goal down Rangers struck for a vital second time. Gibson's right wing centre curled away from Bryant leaving the keeper stranded and Lovatt had a simple finish from Heath's header back across goal.
Trought, who received a blow in the face midway through the first half, did not appear after the interval and less than ten minutes later a back injury forced Kemp from the action. In between this McAughtrie had fired a free-kick wide and Gibson sent a shot over the bar. The hour mark finally saw City force a decent save out of Price. Milsom's 25-yard effort being tipped away for a corner. However, this was only a brief respite for City's overworked backline. Bryant was more than making up for his earlier error, pushing away Brown's volley on 65 minutes then getting his fingertips to Davidson's fiercely struck drive. City's resistance was at breaking point and, with Dan Cleverley having replaced Steve Tweddle five minutes earlier, when Honor went down following a challenge with Downes it was finally broken. Three minutes later Gibson blasted home Stafford's third goal after Bryant had brilliantly blocked Murphy's first shot. The rout was completed with two injury time goals within the space of 40 seconds. First, Brown's corner was only cleared as far as Murphy whose 20-yard volley flew past Bryant. From the restart City immediately conceded possession and Fife ran clear before easily slipping the into the corner of the net. All through the game the only bright spot for City had been the non-stop vocal support of the their 60+ followers who weren't going to allow the sight of their team on the wrong end of a stuffing completely spoil their afternoon.