FT RACA 1 SUNDERLAND RCA 0 Attendance 247
An injury ravaged RACA made it three wins on the spin with a hard fought 1-0 win over Sunderland RCA who were in fine form having won their last five league games. Morgan Dart’s 25th minute goal, having reacting fastest to the ball bouncing off the Ryhope post proving to be the only goal of the game. The Wearsiders piled on the pressure in the last quarter of the game but a fine Ryton rearguard action held firm to collect the three points.
MATCH SUMMARY
Nathan Beckham faced a selection headache for this home game against in-form Sunderland RCA . Fergus Lynch was serving a one match suspension while there was a whole doctor’s waiting room worth of injuries ravaging the squad & keeping several key players on the sidelines. Scott Oldfield was called up to made his seasonal debut while players were pushed into the forward line with Callum Johnston the only recognised striker in the starting eleven. Dylan Lawson was also named on the bench for the first time since recovering from his lengthy injury.
On a rain soaked pitch, it was visitors who created the first chance of the game on 7 minutes when Callum Guy found Jack Patterson unmarked on the left wing with an accurate cross, but Patterson, slightly off balance, couldn’t keep the shot down & it went over the Ryton bar. Albion’s first chance of note came after 17 minutes following a period of sustained pressure when Johnston struck a shot from the edge of the box which Ryhope keeper Karl Dryden stopped, but he could only parry the ball out to Albe Fletcher who fired over the bar from close range. RACA did manage to open the scoring on 24 minutes when they were awarded a free kick just outside the ‘D’ of the Sunderland box. Johnston struck the ball sweetly but Dryden just got enough contact on the ball to tip it on to his post, the ball bouncing into the centre of the box where Morgan Dart reacted quickest & he drilled his close range shot goalwards where again Dryden got a hand to it, but there was sufficient venom in the shot to just cross the line & Albion were ahead against a side that had traditionally struggled in NE40 over the years. Albion thought they’d doubled the advantage five minutes later when a neat exchange between Josh Skivington and Fletcher saw the latter loop in a shot that clipped the post, the ball bouncing to Johnston who prodded home only to be deemed offside by former Albion player Luke Watson now running the line in the Northern League.
HT RACA 1 Sunderland RCA 0
The opening stages of the second period were short on goalmouth action but on 65 minutes Ryhope’s Archie Dodds floated a free kick into the Albion box where Dominic Moan’s attempt at an overhead kick wasn’t far wide of the post. Sunderland’s best chance of an equaliser came in the 67th minute when Luke Richards’ cross played pinball in the RACA box, the ball falling to Max Monaghan at the back post, but he could only fire wide from close quarters & Ryton had a let off. The visitors were beginning to pile on the pressure on the Albion goal & an Archie Dodds ball to Guy saw him cut into the box only to be denied a shot from a timely sliding tackle from RACA captain George Hayton. Dodds almost lobbed Ryton keeper Callum Corkhill on 71 minutes, a minute later Aidan Stanton connected with a corner to hook the ball just wide & on 83 minutes, Corkhill had to push a Dodds free kick round the post but despite the pressure, Albion’s backs to the wall defending kept the Wearsiders at bay. Ryton did look menacing on the break as Ryhope pushed more men forward, both Nathan Beesley and Morgan Dart bringing saves out of Dryden, but one goal was enough & they held on to the three points, completing an eleven day double over RCA having won the 9 goal League Cup thriller over them last Wednesday. Ryton remain in 9th place despite the win.
RACA- Corkhill, Beesley, Oldfield, Hyde, Hayton, Dodds, Emmerson (Parker 39, Whittaker 84), Skivington, Johnston (Lawson 79), Dart, Fletcher (Driver 76). Substitute not used- Adotey