FT RACA 8 Durham United 1 Attendance 420
Four goals from Louis Calvert, including two from the spot, ensured Albion finished the home campaign in style as they brushed Durham United aside 8-1. Morgan Dart, Callum Johnston & a late brace from substitute Joe Groves-Forbes completed the rout for the hosts with Tomas Boothroyd getting United’s goal which at the time was an early equaliser. Albion move up a place in the Division 2 table ahead of Newcastle University into 9th.
MATCH SUMMARY
Albion finished off the home campaign against Durham United in front of a crowd swelled by numerous junior sides & their parents invited for the season’s final curtain at The Oldhaulage.
This was Durham’s first visit to RACA and while there was little at stake for both sides, Ryton clearly weren’t at the beach just yet. It took only 4 minutes for Albion to open the scoring, a ball forward was flicked on by Ethan Bewley to Morgan Dart, & with United defenders William Rees and Zach Gamster leaving the ball for each other to deal with,Dart took full advantage to fire the ball past Sam Allen in the Durham goal. Bewley had half a chance to make it 2-0 on 8 minutes when he outmuscled his marker & advanced into the Durham box, but his shot was blocked by Allen’s legs. But it was the visitors who would score next when their two top scorers combined in the 10th minute, Phil Kay charging up the centre of the pitch & laying the ball to Tomas Boothroyd who kept the forward momentum going & slotted past the advancing Ryton keeper Callum Corkhill to make it 1-1. Albion were given a golden opportunity to restore the lead on 17 minutes when during a Ryton attack, referee Mr Higgott decided Rees had chopped down Dart just inside the United box & awarded a penalty. Louis Calvert stepped up to take & score the spot kick but only after his initial kick was saved by Allen who pushed the ball on to the post & as it rolled along the goal-line Calvert was able to prod it over the line to make it 2-1. RACA extended the lead on 35 minutes when following some head tennis in the Durham box, saw a poor clearance result in the ball landing at the feet of Callum Johnston who volleyed first time straight in the back of the net. As Albion began to turn the screw, Josh Skivington came close to getting on the scoresheet himself when he saw his 38th minute strike from distance tipped over the bar by Allen. Albion were awarded another penalty in the 40th minute when Calvert controlled a crossed ball well & while advancing inside the box,was brought down by Noah Melville who appeared to lose his footing while chasing down Calvert. This time Calvert fired home without incident to make it 4-1. Durham should have reduced the deficit in stoppage time when a United attack saw Zuhair Abdullah lob Corkhill, but his shot hit the bar, the ball bouncing to the unmarked Finlay Ferguson who with only Corkhill to beat could only tamely head it straight at the keeper.
HT RACA 4 Durham United 1
RACA started the second half in full swing & Calvert got his hattrick on 51 minutes after Scott Oldfield found him in space in the middle of the United half. With defenders backing off,Calvert took his chance from 30 yards, the ball swerving a little in the air and sailing past Allen to make it 5-1. 5-1 became 6-1 on 71 minutes when another Oldfield ball forward ended up at the feet of Calvert via a poor header from defender Rees. The Albion no9 hit the post with his initial effort but nodded the rebound home for his fourth of the match. Rees’ forgettable day at the office got even worse when he looked to be harshly given a second yellow card for a challenge on Ryton substitute Joe Groves-Forbes on 80 minutes and Durham’s task became even harder. From the resulting free kick a Nathan Beesley cross reached Groves-Forbes & with half the goal gaping in front of him managed to put his effort over the bar. However Groves-Forbes made amends on 84 minutes when he latched on to an Oldfield cross and slid the ball into the net from close range- 7-1. Ryton and Groves-Forbes hadn’t yet finished with Durham as a move involving Albe Fletcher saw Groves-Forbes net his second goal in 5 minutes to complete the rout & record a second time this season RACA scored eight at home.
Durham United finish their season on a low but will be pleased with their season overall & will be gracing the Northern League for a second season. RACA still have two more league games to play, the next being another trip down the A19 to face Billingham Town on Tuesday evening
FT RACA 8 DURHAM UNITED 1
RACA– Corkhill, Beesley, Oldfield, Bewley (Groves-Forbes 58), Hayton, Caygill, (Driver 58) Lawson (Hyde 46), Skivington (Fletcher 46), Calvert, Dart, Johnston (Bailey 65).
Saturday’s Other Division 2 Results
Alnwick Town 3 (Smith 2, Anderson) Darlington Town 1 (Coles)
Billingham Town 1 (Close) Park View 0
Boldon CA 0 Chester-le-Street Town 1 (Robson)
Esh Winning 0 AFC Newbiggin 1 (Lizinde)
Newcastle University 1 (Murphy) Yarm & Eaglescliffe 2 (Williams, Atkinson)
Redcar Town 2 (Gott 2) Jarrow 1 (Armstrong)
Seaham Red Star 2 (Charlton, Stanley) Grangetown BC 1 (Urwin)
Sunderland RCA 0 Tow Law Town 0
Sunderland West End 1 (Robinson) FC Hartlepool 3 (Newall, Scott, McGee)