Albion edged past Horden CW in the Durham Challenge Cup at a wet Oldhaulage Stadium & in doing so ended the Marras’ remarkable run of 15 games unbeaten while making it 3 wins from 3 in cup games this season. Rhys McLeod opened the scoring after just three minutes, a lead that Ryton held until the interval despite intense Horden pressure. Matty Harrison doubled the advantage in the 51st minute with a fine header but Horden struck back with a David Doughty goal on 54 minutes & despite several chances the East Durham side couldn’t get the equaliser as RACA’s defence hung on valiantly. Albion host FC Hartlepool in the 2nd Round on 6th November.
Albion still smarting from Saturday’s home defeat to Thornaby faced bang in form Division 2 leaders Horden CW in this enjoyable cup tie played on a heavy pitch with the prize of a home tie against FC Hartlepool for the victors. Both sides had made changes to their previous line ups on Saturday, RACA giving a debut to goalkeeper Aaron Carr, while Horden rested the experienced duo of Ben Riding and Jack Pounder who between them got three of their five goals against Esh Winning on Saturday. The home side got off to a dream start, after being awarded a free kick on 3 minutes on the edge of the Horden box following a foul on Louis Calvert. Rhys McLeod’s shot took a slight deflection off Martin Fowler on the end of the wall but it was enough to deceive Marras keeper Andrew Fletcher & Ryton were a goal up although they were to lose Dylan Lawson to injury just two minutes later. Albion maybe should have gone 2-0 up in the 12th minute when Matty Harrison burst through the Horden defence only to see his shot blocked by the legs of Fletcher, the ball falling to Calvert, but his shot was well blocked on the line as three Horden defenders got themselves between Calvert and the goal. Horden replied with a powerful shot from Ben Henderson on 15 minutes which wasn’t far over the Ryton bar. Then in the 20th minute Neil Fannan broke through the RACA defence & tried a deft lob over Carr who just got enough contact on the ball to deflect the ball out for a corner. Henderson was causing further mischief on the left flank in the 31st minute, cutting in & beating two defenders bur Carr thwarted his goalbound effort, palming the ball out for another Horden corner. Two minutes later from the opposite wing Robbie Bird spun round his marker then fired a ball across the six yard line but there was no-one in a red shirt to apply the finishing touch, the ball rolling to the safety of a goal kick.
HT RACA 1 Horden CW 0
Albion started the second half as they did the first, scoring early on when Matty Harrison headed home from a fine cross in the 51st minute to make it 2-0 to the hosts, but the two goal advantage wasn’t to last long. Just two minutes later a move that began with a quickly taken free kick in the Horden half ended up at the end of a swift move forward with the unmarked David Doughty sliding the ball home to make it 2-1 despite protestations of offside from the home side. The second half was summed up with the visitors pushing forward looking for the equaliser but fully committed Ryton defending with slide tackles galore keeping Horden at bay, Albion making the odd fast break forward but also being thwarted by equally committed albeit often stretched Horden defending. Taylor Campbell’s 90th minute dipping shot from distance did look like it might cause Carr some angst but thankfully for RACA the ball went just over the bar. Campbell had one last chance to take the game to penalties in stoppage time when a cross was fired over from the left but his charge into the box was in vain as he could only head over the bar. So a gritty RACA minus a few regular starters made it through past difficult opponents on a heavy pitch, Nathan & Co will be hoping it hasn’t sapped too much energy for the FA Vase tie against Barnoldswick on Saturday, a sentiment surely shared by the Horden camp as they too fly the Second Division flag against NWCL opposition in Padiham on Saturday
FT RACA 2 HORDEN COMMUNITY WELFARE 1 Attendance 130
RACA- Carr, Skivington, Oldfield, Lynch, Errington, Caygill, Lawson (Burrell 5, Craggs 60), Dart (Todd 68), Calvert (Adotey 60), McLeod (Salim 55), Harrison