DARLINGTON TOWN 0 RACA 3
Albion made it four straight wins and four clean sheets with this win at the Eastbourne Community Stadium over Darlington Town. Louis Anderson took just 58 seconds to put Ryton ahead & both he and Callum Johnston grabbed second half goals to beat a Darlo side who created plenty of chances themselves but were let down by poor finishing. RACA move up to 4th place with this latest 3 points
MATCH SUMMARY
RACA travelled to Darlington Town with both sides in completely differing form, RACA on a run of three wins without conceding while Town had gone five games without scoring a goal.
And things went bang to form in just 58 seconds when Albe Fletcher crossed from the right wing & Louis Anderson was on hand to flick the ball home from inside the box to net his 6th goal of the season. Darlo must have feared the worst, especially when within a minute of the opener, Louis Calvert and Callum Johnston combined, the latter unleashing a shot that narrowly went over Nicholas Cranston in the Town goal’s bar. The hosts’ first chance came on 6 minutes when a header from Brandon Mallaburn bounced between teammate Ryu Williamson and Albion keeper Callum Corkhill, both went for the ball and got a touch each, the result of which was the ball going over the bar to safety from a RACA perspective. A minute later & Williamson was in the thick of things again outpacing the Ryton defence in the centre of the park, but his shot with just Corkhill to beat was well blocked with his feet by the keeper. Corkhill came to the rescue again on 16 minutes when in another Darlington attack, Williamson, Jim Wilson & Mallaburn played a neat move that ended up with Mallaburn going for goal but his shot was comfortably blocked. Albion almost got a textbook goal on 21 minutes when Declan Bissett did a spin & turn with the ball that left two Darlington players flat footed, then played a pin-point accurate cross to Calvert who was just denied by Cranston who was alert to the danger & blocked the shot with his feet. Cranston got the better of Calvert again on the 25 minute mark when the Ryton forward outpaced defender Luke Jackson following a punt upfield, but again saw his effort blocked by the stopper. Darlo almost equalised on 31 minutes when Reece Brown flicked a long throw in with his head which for once had Corkhill beaten but the ball bounced on the top of the bar and out of play. Then following a spell of sustained Albion pressure, Town broke smartly with James Beauchamp receiving the ball ,then going on a run before cutting inside the box but his resultant shot sailed over the bar. Darlo finished the half on the offensive, on 44 minutes, once again Williamson with the run down the right flank but again Corkhill was not for breaching and blocked the shot
HT Darlington Town 0 RACA 1
The second half started a bit less frenetically as the first though Johnstone was set up for a 48th minute shot by Calvert, but like so many of the shots before the break at that end, it was fired over the bar, The same pair combined a minute later but this time Cranston blocked Johnson’s shot to keep his side in the game. At the other end Williamson turned provider when on 53 minutes he crossed to Wilson who spun round and shot, but it was just wide of the target. The home side came even closer to scring on 56 minutes when a Mallaburn cross was headed goalwards by Beauchamp but Danny Driver was on hand to scoop the ball to safety before it crossed the line. Town were to pay for their missed opportunities when Ryton extended the lead on 57 minutes. Bisset pulled back the ball from the by-line across the box to Johnston and while Cranston had committed himself to trying to block the cross, there were still three Darlington defenders in the environs of the RACA Number 10, but he steadied himself then popped the ball home to the dejection of the black & white clad defence. Not surprisingly the pace slackened a little given the effort both sides had put in but that didn’t stop Ryton sub Rhys McLeod from going on a solo run then launching a 25 yard piledriver that had Cranston at full stretch but the ball whizzed the wrong side of the crossbar. However Albion were to seal the deal on 73 minutes when McLeod curled in a shot that might well have found the back of the net, but Anderson was taking no chances as he slid in to divert the ball into the other end of the goal albeit trundling over the line in slow motion. Darlington plugged on, Beauchamp hit an 80th minute shot, that looked to trigger a back injury, which was on target but it was an easy catch for Corkhill. Darlo sub Ciaran Dixon also managed to despatch an 89th minute shot despite being surrounded by yellow shirts but it too went magnet-like into Corkhill’s mid-riff. So Albion’s defence held firm again but the three goal margin might have been a bit flattering as Darlington created plenty of chances, but their profligate finishing means their ‘goals for’ ledger continues to gather dust. Albion meanwhile, finally win away from the Tyne Valley, move up to 4th place and push the goal difference up to plus 17. Can the run continue on Saturday against league newcomers AFC Newbiggin?
FT DARLINGTON TOWN 0 RACA 3 Attendance 78
RACA– Corkhill, Skivington, Dart, Luke, Lynch, Driver, Bisset (Whittaker 64), Fletcher (McLeod 55), Calvert (Adotey 76), Johnston, Anderson.
Wednesday’s Other Division 2 Results
Esh Winning 0 Newcastle University 3 (Redford, Morris, Carr)
Jarrow 3 (Cunningham, Hudson, Taylor) Sunderland West End 3 (Clarke, Anderson, Norton)
Prudhoe YC 0 Park View 1 (Loveday)
Thursday’s Division 2 Result
Durham United 2 (Kay, Hopkins) FC Hartlepool 1 (McGee)