For the second consecutive home game Albion have let a 1-0 lead slip & had to settle for a share of the points, this time it was Darlington Town who did the damage, cancelling out Luke Page’s first half opener with a 51st minute James Beauchamp leveller to take a point back down the A68. However other results went our way in the chase for play-off places so the afternoon could have been a lot worse.
MATCH SUMMARY
Ryton & Darlington locked horns for the third time this season on a murky day & a heavy pitch at the Oldhaulage Stadium. Chances were at a premium in the early stages, the first falling to Matty Hayton for the hosts on 13 minutes whose shot was well blocked by Ryan Coles, but from the resultant corner Luke Page bullet headed home from Fergus Lynch’s cross to open his account for the club. There was plenty of end to end play but both defences were on top although on 26 minutes, Lynch’s 25 yard shot wasn’t too far above Philip Pentony’s bar, & Town were relieved to see Lynch’s 33rd minute free kick scrambled to safety after the ball bobbled around the crowded Darlington box. In Albion’s best period of the game it was Lynch again in the thick of thing a minute later, beating his marker before firing across the goal but just going wide of the far post. A minute after that Louis Calvert had his initial shot blocked by Town defender Cameron Holiday but his attempt from the rebound wasn’t far over the visitors’ goal. The half finished without further significant goalmouth action, and at this stage things were looking comfortable for RACA as Town struggled to make any threat into the hosts’ goal.
HT RACA 1 Darlington Town 0
Darlington in their fetching mauve and yellow change kit came out a much different side to their first half selves, Brennan Fitzpatrick fining a shot not far wide in the 49th minute, & it was Fitzpatrick who was instrumental for Town’s equaliser on 51 minutes, looping the ball to James Beauchamp who controlled it well before firing the ball home past Brogan Colquhoun to make it 1-1. Ryton’s first chance of note after the interval was Morgan Dart’s 61st goalbound shot defected narrowly wide, while Hayton’s cross-come-shot three minutes later bounced off the top of the Darlington bar. RACA were back on the ascendency & on 69 minutes Hayton put in a cross from the left which Calvert just couldn’t make contact with from a yard out, else it would have been a certain goal with his marker left & Pentony at the nearside of his goal. A minute later Joe Groves-Forbes brought a comfortable save out of Pentony, while on 72 minutes, George Pinder forced Colquhoun into a tougher save having been set up by Beauchamp. RACA substitute Michael Baxter was next to chance his arm on 83 minutes having been set up by Hayton. He turned his marker but his shot from inside the box was blasted way too high. Albion kept on pressing for a much needed three points, Calvert on 85 minutes bringing a save out of Pentony having done well to get his shot on target from an acute angle & with the attentions of defender Coles to deal with too. Hayton brought another low save out of Pentony on 88 minutes, but in stoppage time Hayton thought he’d grabbed the winner with a great lob over Pentony but the keeper was just able to tip the ball over the bar & Town were able to hang on to their point.
Two points dropped at home but with Esh Winning & Chester-le-Street United both losing it may not be such a bad result after all.
FT RACA 1 DARLINGTON TOWN 1
RACA- Colquhoun, Skivington, Oldfield, Page, Caygill, Errington, Dart (McLeod 74), Lynch, Calvert, Groves-Forbes (Baxter 78), Hayton