ALNWICK TOWN 1 RACA 4 Attendance 55
RACA found their shooting boots again with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Alnwick Town at St James’ Park. A first half Dylan Lawson brace, his first goals of the season, and a Louis Calvert thunderous free kick had Albion 3-1 up at the interval & despite playing the last 15 minutes with ten men following Josh Skivington’s dismissal, Louis Anderson scored a late fourth goal to put the cherry on the Ryton cake. Ryan Smith scored Alnwick’s goal
MATCH SUMMARY
RACA made the trip north to Alnwick striving to end their three match losing run & hoping to do the first double over The Wick since the 2012/13 season. Defeat in this one would all but end Albion’s play-off hopes, a similar sentiment could apply to Alnwick.
On a pleasant evening for February, the first effort on goal came from an Alnwick boot on 6 minutes but not at the right end as Joshua Iley’s attempt to block a Ryton cross resulted in him poking the ball narrowly wide of his own goal, but near enough for keeper Benjamin Luke to fling himself over to try and block the potential o.g. Luke was on the floor again on 16 minutes, this time to pull off a routine save from a Louis Calvert strike from distance, but he was powerless to stop Dylan Lawson’s looping header on 23 minutes. Nathan Beesley had pumped a cross over into the box & Lawson looped it over the keeper to put RACA ahead and nab his first goal of the season. It’s said in football you’re at your most vulnerable just after you’ve scored, and Ryton added weight to that theory when Alnwick were on level terms within two minutes. On a foray forward,Yannick Aziakonou spotted Ryan Smith moving down the right win & played a fine cross to him, Smith managing to outpace his marker & chip Callum Corkhill in the Albion goal who had come out to try & block any shot, and the Wick were level. RACA restored the lead on 37 minutes when Aziakonou was jointly dispossessed by Lawson & Louis Anderson, the former running on to take a shot that Luke looked to have covered, but somehow the ball went past him & into the net. 2-1 became 3-1 just two minutes later when Calvert curled a free kick round a three man Alnwick wall & into the top of the net beyond the reach of Luke & it was beginning to look comfortable for Albion. Alnwick had a chance to halve the deficit in first half stoppage time when Smith, who was the home side’s first half danger man, found Lewis Fairbairn in the box, slightly off balance whose first shot hit a wall of bodies, his second being blocked by Corkhill wearing an unfamiliar grey shirt, and the two goal cushion was maintained.
HT Alnwick Town 1 RACA 3
The hosts started the second half brightly and on 48 minutes Usman Ogidan had the ball in the Ryton net from a Fairburn cross, but it was ruled off-side to the relief of the visitors. It was Albion’s turn to come close to scoring again on 57 minutes, this time from a corner that Calvert flicked against the bar before the ball was cleared to safety. Town were given a boost when Ryton’s Josh Skivington was red carded for a reckless tackle on 75 minutes, but they failed to make the numerical advantage count and as the game became more scrappy and stop start which suited Ryton, it was RACA who finished the scoring in stoppage time, Calvert finding Louis Anderson in plenty of space & he slipped the ball past the exposed Luke & celebrated his 17th goal of the season with a couple of well executed backflips.
FT ALNWICK TOWN 1 RACA 4
RACA- Corkhill, Beesley (Groves-Forbes 50), Skivington, Dart, Hayton, Caygill (Driver 33), Lawson, Lynch (Borley 65), Anderson, Fletcher, Calvert. Substitutes not used- Bailey, Ord
Tuesday’s E Armstrong Cup Results
Billingham Town 3 (Watt, Mitchell, Littlefair) Sunderland West End 1 (Appleby)
Tow Law Town 1 (Farrier) Durham United 0 (at Durham United)
Wednesday’s Division 2 Result
Park View 0 Seaham Red Star 2 (Charlton, Leonard)
Wednesday’s E Armstrong Cup Result
Jarrow 5 (Hardie 2, Twinn, Karim, Barber) Sunderland RCA 0