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Report

FT: RACA 1 Chester-le-Street Town 0

Albion edged out the Cestrians in a scrappy, stop-start affair at The Oldhaulage, with Louis Anderson’s 42nd-minute penalty proving the difference. His spot-kick clipped the underside of the crossbar before bouncing over the line to finally open his account for the season. It might not be a game that lives long in the memory, but a second clean sheet in four days and a third successive victory lifted RACA above Town and into 10th place.

Match Report

Following Wednesday night’s 3-0 victory over Durham United, Albion had little time to recover before returning to The Oldhaulage to face Chester-le-Street Town. Back-to-back victories, featuring eight goals scored and just one conceded, meant Ryton came into the game with renewed confidence and looking to continue their winning run.

It was the visitors, however, who made the brighter start.

Chester-le-Street enjoyed the better of the early chances and tested the RACA defence, with James Plunkett making a number of important headed clearances to keep the Cestrians at bay.

Their first clear opportunity arrived after seven minutes when Beattie raced onto a ball through the Ryton defence and beat Glenn Caygill for pace. He looked to have a clear sight of the bottom corner, but Callum Corkhill produced an excellent diving save to deny him.

Albion’s first opening came when Louis Calvert received the ball inside the penalty area, but Brownsword recovered quickly to close him down before he could seriously test Campbell in the visitors’ goal.

Chances remained at a premium as the game developed into a physical midfield battle. Chester threatened again from a free-kick just outside the Albion box following a late challenge on Fairley. The initial effort struck the Ryton wall and, after Corkhill was unable to gather the loose ball cleanly, the follow-up crept narrowly past the post.

With the interval approaching and neither side having managed to find a breakthrough, Albion were handed their opportunity.

Anderson was caught by a late challenge inside the penalty area on 42 minutes and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. The RACA forward stepped up and hammered his penalty down the middle, the ball crashing against the underside of the crossbar before bouncing over the line.

After several near misses in recent games, Anderson finally had his first goal of the season – and Ryton had the lead.

It was an evenly contested opening 45 minutes in which both defences had largely come out on top, but Albion’s late penalty ensured they headed into the dressing room with the advantage.

HT: RACA 1 Chester-le-Street Town 0

Any hopes that Anderson’s goal might open the game up after the break proved misplaced.

Instead, the second half developed into an increasingly scrappy and stop-start contest, with neither side able to establish much rhythm and a succession of stoppages preventing the game from ever really flowing.

The first meaningful opportunity after the restart fell to Albion. Anderson found debutant Ajavon, who had only joined the club the previous evening, and the new signing got a sight of goal before sending his effort narrowly wide.

Ryton began to create the better openings as the half progressed, but the single-goal advantage ensured there was always an element of tension.

Chester-le-Street applied pressure during the final 15 minutes, winning a succession of corners as they searched for an equaliser. The Albion defence stood firm, however, repeatedly winning the first contact and clearing the danger before the visitors could seriously threaten Corkhill’s goal.

With the clock ticking towards 90 minutes, Ryton introduced another debutant in Joe Gascoigne, and he almost marked his first appearance with a goal. Good work from Oliver Bell released Gascoigne, whose low effort was on target but comfortably gathered by Campbell.

The final whistle followed soon afterwards, confirming another three points and another clean sheet for Albion.

FT: RACA 1 Chester-le-Street Town 0

It was unlikely to feature among the season’s highlights, but after the free-scoring victories of the previous week, this was a different kind of win for RACA.

For the second game in four days, Albion kept their opponents off the scoresheet, with Anderson’s first-half penalty enough to settle a hard-fought contest. Three successive victories have transformed the complexion of Ryton’s start to the season, with the latest result lifting them above Chester-le-Street and into 10th place.

Albion are quickly back on the road, travelling to Seaham Red Star on Tuesday evening looking to keep their winning run going.

RACA: Corkhill, Beesley, Grieveson, Hayton, Caygill, Plunkett, Atkinson (Ajavon 64), Hutchinson, Anderson (Gascoigne 90+2), Groves-Forbes (Fletcher 89), Calvert (Bell 84). Substitute not used: Costello.

Attendance: 201