RACA made it through to the 1st Round of the FA Vase with a 5-2 win over Garstang at the Oldhaulage Stadium. A Louis Calvert treble plus a goal each from Abu Salim and Matty Todd put Albion into the hat for Monday’s draw at the expense of the North West Counties League outfit
Garstang made the 250 mile round trip to Crawcrook in the hope of ending RACA’s fine run of results despite their own inauspicious start to the season. Traditionally, Ryton’s Vase games against North West Counties League have brought goals, at least four in each game with every team scoring in the six previous ties & this was to prove no different.
Albion were the dominant side in the opening period penning Garstang into their own half as the visitors struggled to clear their lines effectively & it came as no surprise when Louis Calvert opened the scoring on 19 minutes with a beautiful free kick that sailed past Garstang keeper Joshua Lucas & into the top corner of the net. RACA doubled the lead on 26 minutes when Abu Salim scored his 11th goal of the season across three different competitions with a well struck shot from the edge of the box. Calvert had the hosts seemingly with one foot in the next round on 34 minutes when his gentle flick past Lucas just had the momentum to cross the line & thwart the Garstang defenders’ attempts to reach the ball in time. So RACA went into the interval with a comfortable lead & surely destined reach the 1st Round proper for the first time in 15 seasons
HT RACA 3 Garstang 0
But what a difference a break makes. The Lancastrians’ manager, former Blackpool player Guy Heffernan, presumably had some choice words to say to his side as they started the second half with much more gusto & shocked the home fans when Andrew Murphy pulled a goal back within a minute of the restart. Then in the 52nd minute came a key decision that could well have changed the destiny of the game. Garstang again had the ball in the Ryton net following a corner, but just as the men in red were congratulating each other, they noticed the stand side linesman’s flag up as the ball from the corner was deemed to have gone out of play before swinging back into the box. Who knows how Albion would have reacted to having their lead cut to one goal within seven minutes of the restart, but as it happens Calvert restored the two goal cushion with a fine shot from the edge of the box & in the process scored a first hattrick of the season for a Ryton player. This seemed to settle the home side’s nerves & deflate Garstang who were making a decent fist of getting back on level terms. Calvert wasn’t far off getting a fourth goal on 61 minutes with another decent effort from distance that whistled past Lucas’ post. Rhys McLeod rattled said post with his 73rd minute effort to almost make the game safe, but just two minutes later, Garstang substitute Owen Pye launched a cross cum shot from wide on the right wing that sailed over Albion keeper Brogan Colquhoun & into the net, which if intended as a shot would have been a goal of the season, though Pye’s reserved celebration in contrast to his team mates suggested it was intended as a cross. Whether shot or cross it was a goal to make it 4-2 and it was game on again, & the visitors sensing some hope of salvaging something pressed forward in more numbers. Unfortunately for Garstang, that left them short at the back & RACA sub Matty Todd took full advantage of some ponderous defending, dispossessing his opponent & firing home to make it 5-2 on 80 minutes. Todd could have made it 6-2 in the 82nd minute, but his goal-bound effort was well saved by Lucas. To Garstang’s credit they still pressed forward despite their ship having sailed & Murphy gave Colquhoun something to think about in the 88th minute, beating two defenders then striking his shot on target although this was comfortably smothered by the Ryton stopper.
So Albion make it seven wins and a draw from the last eight games & eagerly await the opposition in the next round being drawn on Monday lunchtime. An all round good day for the club the only negative being the slightly disappointing attendance of 125.
Best wishes to Garstang in their NWCL campaign & we trust they enjoyed their trip to the Tyne Valley despite the result.
FT RACA 5 GARSTANG 2 Attendance 125
RACA- Colquhoun, Skivington, Ledger, Lynch (Lawson 65), Oldfield, Errington, Craggs (Walker 65), McLeod, Calvert (Grieveson 70), Salim (Harrison 77), Groves-Forbes (Todd 70)