Albion’s long term hold on the Ernest Armstrong Cup is over with Yarm & Eaglescliffe the new holders having beaten Horden CW 2-0 in the final played at FC Hartlepool today. Congratulations to the Eagles but we will be playing them next season, unlike Second Division champions Horden & play-off winners Thornaby who we congratulate on their promotion to Division 1.

Coming down are Tow Law Town and probably Seaham Red Star while coming up from the feeder leagues are AFC Newbiggin and Durham United from the Northern Alliance and Wearside League respectively. Dropping out of the Northern League are Washington and possibly Grangetown Boys Club, though lateral transfers and ground grading issues could well change the landscape of the relegations between now and the start of the 2025/26 season.

Photo (c): Yarm & Eaglescliffe

This month’s lucky winners are-

1st prize No 99 R Carradice who wins £100

2nd Prize No 20 H Le Patourel who wins £75

3rd Prize No 27 K O’Donnell who wins £25

next draw is on 07/06/2025

Well done to our three winners, if you’d like to take part in this monthly fundraiser from just £5 a month, please contact us via the usual channels on the foot of the homepage or contact Paul le Patourel at the club on 07720 413390 . Thank-you

Albion’s late season collapse continued with a 0-3 defeat to third placed Jarrow at the Oldhaulage Stadium. A patchwork starting XI held the promotion hopefuls to 0-0 at the interval but the usual second half capitulation kicked in again as the South Tynesiders cruised to a comfortable victory.

MATCH SUMMARY

Albion were hoping to end the season on a high against third placed Jarrow after finally ending the five game losing streak with last Saturday’s draw at Bedlington. Manager Nathan Beckham, already with a threadbare squad had to replace keeper Brogan Colquhoun who picked up an injury in the warm up,with covering keeper Tom White making his competitive debut to face a Jarrow side with outside hopes of finishing runners up to Horden in Division 2.

In a quiet opening period Jarrow, yet another side playing in hard to make out shirt numbers, (so apologies in advance for any misidentification of Jarrow players) created their first opportunity from a 9^th minute corner that was flicked on by Callum Johnson into a crowded six yard box where Benji Shodeinde was first to the ball, spinning round to make contact but could only fire wide. Shodeinde’s pace was causing concern for Albion’s defence & just two minutes later he sped down the left wing but saw his shot blocked by White, the loose ball running back to Shodeinde whose cross was well cut out by White to boost the debutant keeper’s confidence. Ryton faced another injury blow on 19 minutes when Jack Errington had to hobble off to be replaced by Jack Spurr. and the home side had to wait until the 27^th minute for a meaningful chance when Connor Brown chested down a cross and laid the ball to Rhys McLeod who fired narrowly wide. Jarrow might well have taken the lead on 33 minutes when Ryan Hardie played a fine cross the width of the pitch to Johnson who cut in & while his shot beat White, Dale Burrell was on hand to clear the ball before Shodeinde could tap home. The 38^th minute saw more drama in the Ryton box when a fluffed clearance saw Johnson gather the ball and bring a fine save out of White, the ball being pushed out for a corner from which Chris Brennan fired just over the bar. With a minute to go until half time RACA had another half chance when McLeod was first to latch on to a partial clearance from the Jarrow defence, but again his shot screwed narrowly wide. But it was Jarrow who ought to have taken the lead in the last seconds of the half when the unmarked Johnson headed a decent cross over with the goal at his mercy.

HT RACA 0 Jarrow 0

Albion got their first shot on target on 58 minutes, McLeod again the man with the effort, but it was straight at Jak Wells having an easy afternoon in the Jarrow goal who was able to gather comfortably. Jarrow deservedly took the lead on 58 minutes when Johnson controlled a cross to him, beat his marker & lobbed White to take control of the game, RACA once again with that bad habit of conceding in the early stages of a second half. Jarrow doubled the advantage on 71 minutes when Ryan Hardie found Shodeinde who cut inside from the left & found the corner of the net with pin-point accuracy. Ryton were consigned to shoot from distance, Luca Cairns curling a shot from 30 yards that wasn’t too far off the mark on 73 minutes, but any hopes of a comeback for the hosts were extinguished on 79 minutes when substitute Carl Williams sprung the offside trap to slot home past White for his first goal for Jarrow this season. Another Jarrow substitute, James Harper perhaps should have made it 4-0 as he sped past a tired Ryton rearguard in the 85^th minute but blasted his shot over the bar with just White to beat. In the end it didn’t matter as Yarm’s easy win at Chester-le-Street Town meant Jarrow finished 3^rd & will host Chester-le-Street United in their play-off semi final. As for RACA , it’s one draw and five defeats from the last six games of the campaign as what looked like being a good season unravelled into a slightly disappointing one, leaving Nathan with some rebuilding to do over the summer.

FT RACA 0 JARROW 3 Attendance 210

RACA- White, Fletcher, Ledger, Burrell (Colquhoun 88), Errington (Spurr 18), Caygill, Brown (Cairns 69), Grieveson, Hoggins (Skivington 72), Bisset, McLeod

Albion’s last game of the season is a home game against Jarrow on Saturday. While RACA are guaranteed to finish in 7th place, the South Tynesiders have a slim chance of grabbing second place but that would depend on winning at the Oldhaulage Stadium and Yarm & Eaglescliffe slipping up at Chester-le-Street Town but either way Jarrow are in the play offs with a home tie in the semi finals. Our recent record against them isn’t great, having lost our last three games, albeit by a single goal on each occasion, and on current form Jarrow will be favourites to win this game though with one eye on the play-offs Albion could take advantage of any key players being rested. At least we found our scoring boots on again last week netting four at Bedlington, the first time we’d scored more than one goal since winning at Chester-le-Street Town in February. Kick off is the usual 3pm to hope to see a few of you there to hopefully see off the season in style. Howay the RACA!!!

FT BEDLINGTON TERRIERS 4 RACA 4

Despite RACA being expected to win this game, Albion can be commended for fighting back to snatch a point being a man light. Trailing 0-1 from a 32nd minute opener, Louis Calvert broke his recent goal drought to level for Albion to put the sides into the break level. Terriers then took the lead straight from the interval. When Bedlington made it 3-1 on 52 minutes it looked bleak for the visitors especially with Fergus Lynch having been sent off, but a Morgan Dart brace had Ryton level again at 3-3. The Terriers looked to have won the game with a fourth goal in the 92nd minute, but Albe Fletcher had the last laugh with a 95th minute equaliser to end a frantic game all square.

MATCH SUMMARY

With finishing 7^th in the table being all RACA had to play for now, this trip to a badly out of form Bedlington Terriers could be an ideal opportunity to play without the shackles of expectation. Terriers without a home win since early November fielded former Albion favourite Mason Stephenson in their starting XI, looked booked to finish in 20^th place just ahead of the expected drop zone. Albion handed a second debut to Connor Brown following his recent move from Crook Town, though Glenn Caygill, scorer of Ryton’s recent goals during the barren spell up front, was unavailable.

With neither keeper being unduly troubled in the opening stages, Bedlington’s Kai Charlton had a good opportunity to put his side ahead on 20 minutes, dispossessing a Ryton defender but with just keeper Brogan Colquhoun to beat, he put his shot wide. Charlton was to atone for his miss in the 31^st minute when Ryan Dougherty flicked the ball forward to him & with the Albion defence expecting the linesman’s flag to be raised, were caught out, and Charlton nipped it to tap home from close range. Ryton looked to draw level in the 40^th minute when Louis Calvert cut in from the left & tried to find Richie Hoggins unmarked at the far post, but Patrick Crombie in the Terriers’ goal got his fingertips to the ball to divert it out for a corner. Albion did equalise with just two minutes to go until half time, when Jack Ledger found Calvert who sped past his markers and slotted home.

HT Bedlington Terriers 1 RACA 1

True to form Albion conceded almost straight from the start of the second half, conceding a free kick which Connor Taggart floated to the back post where Hamza Mohammed flicked the ball to Rio Eastway who in turn steadied himself and his shot found the back of the net. To add insult to injury Fergus Lynch was dismissed for a deliberate hand ball and RACA had to play almost a whole half with ten men. 2-1 became 3-1 on 52 minutes following a move down Bedlington’s right flank, Jordan Stephenson found Mohammed whose cross was latched on to by Charlton who had nipped between two defenders to tap home into the corner of the net for his brace. Just as it looked like all was lost for Ryton, Morgan Dart halved the deficit when in the 73^rd minute, Calvert found him in acres of space on the left. Dart then had time to pick to spot and shoot home giving Crombie no chance as the ball bulged the corner of the net. A 87^th minute free kick to RACA was the catalyst for an unlikely equaliser, Declan Bisset’s cross somehow evading a raft of players to find Dart who struck bullseye with his first time shot that made it 3-3 and seemingly rescue a point for the Tyne Valley outfit. A minute later & Ryton could have snatched the win following a scramble in the Bedlington box, the ball running out to Albe Fletcher but his low drive was smothered by Crombie. Then heartache for Albion as a poor clearance landed at the feet of Jordan Stephenson who found Joe Ledger in space who went it alone and struck the ball past Colquhoun to make it 4-3 to Bedlington and surely end their win drought at the Dr Pit. But no, in a final twist deep into stoppage time, Albion’s Scott Oldfield just beat Callum Robson to a loose ball, then continued his run down the left wing, crossing the ball into the box for Albe Fletcher to nod home his first goal for the club and definitely this time rescue a point.

So Albion end the losing run but it’s six without a win and a tricky last game against Jarrow to end the campaign. However coming back three times from a losing position in the same game can’t be sniffed at.

RACA- Colquhoun, Fletcher, Ledger (Adotey 68), Brown (Cairns 73), Errington, S Oldfield, Lynch (s/o), Dart, Calvert, Bisset, Hoggins (Symons 48)

FT BEDLINGTON TERRIERS 4 RACA 4 Attendance 48

RACA’s last away day of 2024/25 is to struggling Bedlington Terriers, who haven’t had their troubles to seek in recent times both on and off the pitch. While Albion’s loss in form sees us enduring five straight defeats, our opponents haven’t won since beating Chester-le-Street Town 4-1 in January, a run of eleven games, so something’s got to give this afternoon. One recent positive for Albion has been Glenn Caygill’s purple patch in front of goal, scoring in three of the last four games, though Louis Calvert is destined for the golden boot with 20 goals to his credit in 24/25. Albion’s recent form against the Terriers hasn’t been great, not beating them since the 21/22 season, a run of five without victory, with the sides drawing 2-2 in Crawcrook in October. We didn’t actually play a game at the Dr Pit last season as pitch problems forced the Bedlington ‘home’ game to be switched to Kingsley Park late on in the campaign, that game also ending up as a draw.

If you’re making the relatively short trip to Bedlington, the postal address for your sat-nav is Dr Pit Park, Park Rd, Bedlington NE22 5DP Howay the RACA!!

RACA 1 BILLINGHAM SYNTHONIA 3

Albion’s extended tenure as holders of the E Armstrong Cup is over as they capitulated in the second half of this tie to a lively Synners side. Leading at the interval to another Glenn Caygill goal on 14 minutes, it all unravelled for Albion as Peter Bulmer, Thomas Birtles, Jack Spears all netted for the visitors to set up a quarter final with fellow Teessiders Yarm & Eaglescliffe. For Albion it’s now five straight defeats with now just two games left to play.

MATCH SUMMARY

With the promotion ship having long since sailed, Albion’s last chance of silverware this season was the retention of the E Armstrong Cup, the first hurdle being this 2^nd tie at home to a similarly out of form Billingham Synthonia.

A quiet opening period saw Synners’ Jack Spears have the first shot on target on 10 minutes, but his grasscutter while on target lacked the pace to trouble Brogan Colquhoun in the Ryton goal. RACA’s first show of looking dangerous came in the 13^th minute when Jack Errington launched a ball upfield to Richie Hoggins who cut in to the box despite the attentions of Adam Groom but as he pulled the trigger, defender Foster Garton slid in to pull off a fine block before the shot could cause any damage. However the reprieve was short-lived as from the resultant corner, Fergus Lynch’s cross was met by the head of Glenn Caygill who kept his scoring purple patch going by powering the ball past Sam Taylor. 1-0 to the Albion who were to create a decent chance on 23 minutes when Lynch found Hoggins unmarked in the Billingham box but he could only scuff his shot and it was comfortably cleared. The visitors were a awarded a free kick from around 30 yards out & while Matty Wilshaw’s effort was narrowly wide, it had Colquhoun scrambling across his line to ensure the ball wouldn’t creep into the corner. Then Albion were back on the attack on 34 minutes when Dale Burrell flicked on header to Hoggins who cut in from the left flank, outpacing one defender before putting his shot just wide of the post with Taylor at full stretch. Two minutes later and Hoggins was now the provider, finding Louis Calvert racing towards the Synners’ goal, but his shot was indicative of his recent fortunes in front of goal, bouncing wide of Taylor’s post. Lewis Porritt should have levelled for Synthonia in the 38^th minute when he took advantage of a scuffed clearance by Colquhoun, rounding the keeper and firing goalward only to find his shot lacked the necessary venom, allowing Scott Oldfield to intercept & clear to safety. At the other end Ryton continued to be profligate in front of goal, another fine delivery from a corner from Lynch was put over the bar by Hoggins in the 40^th minute, the home side going into the interval with the narrowest of leads.

HT RACA 1 Billingham Synthonia 0

Albion, usually at their most vulnerable just after half time, actually created the first chance, though Calvert’s shot on target was an easy gather for Taylor. But old habits die hard & RACA were in trouble on 53 minutes when conceding a free kick inside the box. With everyone in a black and blue shirt on the goal line, Willshaw’s strike was blocked and was followed by the mother of all scrambles before an unmarked Peter Bulmer found the ball at his feet and he coolly slotted home the equaliser. Willshaw brought another save out of Colquhoun from a tight angle on the hour mark but from the corner a Tom Birtles header ended up in the Ryton net despite howls of protestations that the Albion keeper had been fouled in the process. On 65 minutes, in a carbon copy of the build up to Billingham’s second goal, Willshaw brought another block from Colquhoun from a tight angle that resulted in a corner, but fortunately for RACA, this time the keeper plucked the cross out of the air. Synners looked to have wrapped the game up on 73 minutes when a combination of dogged determination and fortunate ricochets saw Ash Lavan bulldoze his way through the home defence before laying the ball to Jack Spears who stretched out a leg to divert the ball past Colquhoun to make it 3-1. Thereafter, rather like Albion’s season, the game fizzled out as a contest and it was the Teessiders who progress into the quarter finals. Meanwhile it’s five defeats on the spin for Albion with a trip to an even more out of form Bedlington to come on Saturday representing a rare golden opportunity to get back on track.

FT RACA 1 BILLINGHAM TOWN 3

RACA – Colquhoun, Fletcher (Cairns 88), Dart, S Oldfield, Errington, Caygill, Burrell (Symons 70), McCabe (Ledger 66), Calvert, Lynch, Hoggins (Adotey 80).

Following the floodlight drama back in December, and Billingham Town’s ultimately unsuccessful appeal over their failure to resume play, Albion are finally free to contest their Ernest Armstrong Cup second-round tie against Billingham Synthonia on Wednesday evening. Oddly enough, the winners of the tie would know their potential final opponents at full time as one semi final, Horden v Jarrow, is being played at the same time. The winners of our tie are at home to Yarm & Eaglescliffe in the 3rd round, the winners of that host FC Hartlepool in the semi finals before the winners of that play either Horden or Jarrow at a venue to be decided. Synners have had a disappointing season and after rallying in February, they haven’t won since then, picking up just one point in their six games since. Head to heads this campaign have honours even with Albion winning 2-0 at home & Synners winning 4-2 on Teesside but it’s a clash of two out of form sides where one side will celebrate a welcome win. Kick off on Wednesday is 7:30pm so try & get down to cheer on RACA in our defence of the trophy. Howay RACA!!!!!!!!!!

This month’s lucky winners are-

1st prize No 47 M Connelly who wins £100

2nd Prize No 49 S Cook who wins £75

3rd Prize No 29 P Hands who wins £25

next draw is on 03/05/2025

Well done to our three winners, if you’d like to take part in this monthly fundraiser from just £5 a month, please contact us via the usual channels on the foot of the homepage or contact Paul le Patourel at the club on 07720 413390 . Thank-you

FT FC HARTLEPOOL 2 RACA 1

RACA continue to limp towards the end of the season with a fourth successive defeat, this time a narrow 2-1 reverse at FC Hartlepool. Trailing 0-1 at the interval, Glenn Caygill levelled with his third goal in six games on 54 minutes, but Finlay O’ Gorman, who scored the opener, nabbed the winner for Pool on 66 minutes to put the final nail in the play-off coffin. Ironically results elsewhere went well with Esh losing and Thornaby only getting a stoppage time point at Grangetown but at least there’s the E Armstrong Cup to defend.

MATCH SUMMARY

With just the E Armstrong Cup to play for, FC Hartlepool hosted a RACA side striving to avoid a fourth straight loss, the Albion knowing nothing but a win and favourable results at Alnwick & Grangetown would extinguish the faint flicker of scraping in the play-offs.

Unfortunately for RACA the home side didn’t take long to open the scoring when in the 5^th minute Arran Jackson lumped a ball forward from the touchline which curled between two defenders. Fin O’Gorman spotted the indecision in the Ryton rearguard, nipped in & slotted home past the exposed Brogan Colquhoun in the Albion goal. Chances were at a premium in an uneventful first half, Albion’s best chances were a flick from Albe Fletcher that wasn’t too far off the goal from a 40^th minute cross from Declan Bisset, & 2 minutes later Fergus Lynch saw his shot from distance comfortably gathered by George Briggs in the Pool goal. FC for there part created very little too, a 34^th minute O’Gorman shot that was deflected for a corner being their best effort outwith the goal.

HT FC Hartlepool 1 RACA 0

In a mirror image of the first period, the first action of note was a goal five minutes into the half, only this time it was to Ryton. The visitors had been awarded a corner which Lynch swung into the box where Glenn Caygill, who had found space for himself, was able to pick his spot & fire home. On 54 minutes Pool captain Josh Daley perhaps deserved more when going on an unorthodox solo run in the RACA box, taking full advantage of rebounds off defenders before finding a shooting chance, only to tamely put the ball wide. But the home fans didn’t have long to wait to see their side regain the lead when on the hour mark, Briggs launched the ball upfield, Jackson flicking the ball forward with his head into the path of O’Gorman who outpaced his marker & sweetly lobbed Colquhoun to make it 2-1. Hartlepool should have wrapped up the game on 83 minutes when Fin Smith crossed to an unmarked Will Okine six yards from the goal, but the ball hit the player rather than the other way round & it bounced harmlessly wide. Three minutes later & it was Albion’s turn to almost score, Luca Cairns winning the ball in the FC box, then finding Louis Calvert via a defender’s legs, but the RACA top scorer could only hit the bar. With just two minutes of normal time to play, Ryton were given a lifeline when awarded a soft penalty when Lewis Cowan was adjudged to have impeded Calvert in the FC Hartlepool box. While Calvert struck the spot kick well enough, Briggs pulled off an excellent save & Pool’s lead remained intact, a lead they held on to until full time consigning Albion to a fourth successive defeat.

FT FC HARTLEPOOL 2 RACA 1

RACA- Colquhoun, Spurr (Hoggins 54), S Oldfield, Grieveson, Caygill, Burrell (C Oldfield 69), Lynch, Fletcher (Symons 78), Calvert, Bisset, Dart (Cairns 83)