Recent history repeated itself again in the FA Vase draw as once again RACA are drawn at home and for the third time this season, we host opposition from the North West Counties Football League. Our second round opponents are West Didsbury and Chorlton FC from the NWCFL Premier League, the same division as Barnoldswick Town who coincidently they meet in a league fixture tomorrow evening at Barnoldswick’s Silentnight Stadium. WD&C are currently in 6th place in the division with games in hand over everyone above them except Bury FC, so a tough challenge awaits us on November 9th. More on our opponents & the cup tie nearer the time.

RACA made it two cup wins in four days to beat Step 5 Barnoldswick Town of the North West Counties Football League to progress to the FA Vase 2nd Round for only the second time ever. A very even first half finished goalless but as the Lancastrians began to tire, Albion took full advantage scoring twice in as many minutes with Rhys McLeod & Louis Calvert both netting in 70 and 71 minutes respectively, before substitute Joe Groves-Forbes put any thoughts of a late comeback to bed with a stoppage time winner.

Albion welcomed NWCL opposition to the Tyne Valley for the second time this season, premier league Barnoldswick Town the opposition who sampled the delights of the A1 traffic past the Metro Centre on a Saturday causing a 15 minute delay to kick off. The pitch was in remarkably good condition considering the hammer it took in the Horden cup tie on Wednesday & the weather kinder than forecast so we were all set for this much awaited Vase game. The visitors created the first chance of note on 6 minutes, Luke Stowe’ s cross from the right flank finding Gareth Hill but the Town centre forward skied his shot over the RACA bar. Albion’s first chance ended up with the same outcome when in the 18th minute, Glenn Caygill got on the end of a corner, but he too couldn’t keep the ball down. Two minutes later and another Ryton attempt ended up clearing the bar, this time Matty Harrison’s header from a Rhys McCloud free kick. In a decent spell for the hosts, on 21 minutes Louis Calvert might have done better after beating his marker in the Barnoldswick box, only to fire into the side netting when laying the ball off might have been the better option. The visitors’ best chance of the half came in the 27th minute when captain Andrew Hill struck a beautiful free kick that look destined for the top corner of the RACA net, only for Brogan Colquhoun to pull off a fine doubler handed save. So with the defences on top a very even half finished goalless.

HT RACA 0 Barnoldswick Town 0

In a statement of intent Albion weren’t going to sit back & just 2 minutes into the second half Scott Oldfield fired a shot from midway into the opposition half that whizzed past Callum Jakoulevs’ post. As Barnoldswick’s first half exertions looked to take their toll they began getting caught in possession & were nearly made to pay in the 64th minute when Fergus Lynch took advantage of dilly-dallying and raced forward, his cross-field ball finding McLeod whose shot from an awkward angle was pushed out for a corner by Jakoulevs. While there was nothing between the sides in the first half, the second period was to see Albion dominate & take advantage of the tiring visitors, & it was to be a weary attempt at a clearance from Hill on 70 minutes that led to the deadlock being broken as his scuffed effort fell to McLeod who fired home from just outside the box. Barely had the elation subsided when RACA went 2-0 up, a fine move starting with a Jack Ledger tackle saw Lynch lay the ball to Harrison who in turn laid the ball to Calvert who outpaced the defenders and slotted home past an exposed Jakoulevs. In fairness Barlick never looked like pulling a goal back & Ryton put the icing on the Vase cake deep into stoppage time when two substitutes combined to make it 3-0, Matty Todd out on the by-line found Joe Groves-Forbes on the edge of the box & he drilled home to make certain Ryton & Crawcrook Albion would be in Monday’s draw for the 2nd Round of the FA Vase.

FT RACA 3 BARNOLDSWICK TOWN 0 Attendance 130

RACA- Colquhoun, Skivington, Oldfield, Burrell (Craggs 83), Errington, Caygill, Lynch, Dart (Groves-Forbes 65), Calvert (Hayton 76), McLeod (Ledger 73), Harrison (Todd 86)

Albion will be hoping to replicate Wednesday’s cup fortune as we welcome North West Counties League Premier Division Barnoldswick Town to the Oldhaulage Stadium in the 1st Round Proper of the FA Vase, the Premier competition for clubs of our standing. We’ve never played ‘Barlick’ before but have played NWCL opposition seven times previously in the FA Vase including of course Garstang in the previous round. There have been no less than forty two goals in these seven games so fans haven’t been short-changed in these cup ties to date. Should RACA win we’ll match the furthest we have progressed in the tournament to date having made it to the 2nd Round back in 2008/09 where we lost 4-1 at Nostell Miners Welfare in a replayed game following a 2-2 draw at Kingsley Park. Hopefully the pitch will recover fully after a wet Wednesday County Cup tie, with Thursday & Friday forecast to be dry & only some light rain on Saturday. Hopefully there will be a decent attendance although Newcastle United are at home which never helps, but neighbours Prudhoe YC have switched their Vase Tie v Redcar Athletic at Essity Park to Friday night giving Tyne Valley football fans the chance to watch two nearby Vase ties in 24 hours. This tie is worth £1100 to the winners as well as the prestige of progressing in a national tournament. Kick off for our game is 3pm and we’ll be printing a match day programme for this special fixture which will be available at the entrance booth for £2. Only seven wins from Wembley! Howay The Lads!

Albion edged past Horden CW in the Durham Challenge Cup at a wet Oldhaulage Stadium & in doing so ended the Marras’ remarkable run of 15 games unbeaten while making it 3 wins from 3 in cup games this season. Rhys McLeod opened the scoring after just three minutes, a lead that Ryton held until the interval despite intense Horden pressure. Matty Harrison doubled the advantage in the 51st minute with a fine header but Horden struck back with a David Doughty goal on 54 minutes & despite several chances the East Durham side couldn’t get the equaliser as RACA’s defence hung on valiantly. Albion host FC Hartlepool in the 2nd Round on 6th November.

Albion still smarting from Saturday’s home defeat to Thornaby faced bang in form Division 2 leaders Horden CW in this enjoyable cup tie played on a heavy pitch with the prize of a home tie against FC Hartlepool for the victors. Both sides had made changes to their previous line ups on Saturday, RACA giving a debut to goalkeeper Aaron Carr, while Horden rested the experienced duo of Ben Riding and Jack Pounder who between them got three of their five goals against Esh Winning on Saturday. The home side got off to a dream start, after being awarded a free kick on 3 minutes on the edge of the Horden box following a foul on Louis Calvert. Rhys McLeod’s shot took a slight deflection off Martin Fowler on the end of the wall but it was enough to deceive Marras keeper Andrew Fletcher & Ryton were a goal up although they were to lose Dylan Lawson to injury just two minutes later. Albion maybe should have gone 2-0 up in the 12th minute when Matty Harrison burst through the Horden defence only to see his shot blocked by the legs of Fletcher, the ball falling to Calvert, but his shot was well blocked on the line as three Horden defenders got themselves between Calvert and the goal. Horden replied with a powerful shot from Ben Henderson on 15 minutes which wasn’t far over the Ryton bar. Then in the 20th minute Neil Fannan broke through the RACA defence & tried a deft lob over Carr who just got enough contact on the ball to deflect the ball out for a corner. Henderson was causing further mischief on the left flank in the 31st minute, cutting in & beating two defenders bur Carr thwarted his goalbound effort, palming the ball out for another Horden corner. Two minutes later from the opposite wing Robbie Bird spun round his marker then fired a ball across the six yard line but there was no-one in a red shirt to apply the finishing touch, the ball rolling to the safety of a goal kick.

HT RACA 1 Horden CW 0

Albion started the second half as they did the first, scoring early on when Matty Harrison headed home from a fine cross in the 51st minute to make it 2-0 to the hosts, but the two goal advantage wasn’t to last long. Just two minutes later a move that began with a quickly taken free kick in the Horden half ended up at the end of a swift move forward with the unmarked David Doughty sliding the ball home to make it 2-1 despite protestations of offside from the home side. The second half was summed up with the visitors pushing forward looking for the equaliser but fully committed Ryton defending with slide tackles galore keeping Horden at bay, Albion making the odd fast break forward but also being thwarted by equally committed albeit often stretched Horden defending. Taylor Campbell’s 90th minute dipping shot from distance did look like it might cause Carr some angst but thankfully for RACA the ball went just over the bar. Campbell had one last chance to take the game to penalties in stoppage time when a cross was fired over from the left but his charge into the box was in vain as he could only head over the bar. So a gritty RACA minus a few regular starters made it through past difficult opponents on a heavy pitch, Nathan & Co will be hoping it hasn’t sapped too much energy for the FA Vase tie against Barnoldswick on Saturday, a sentiment surely shared by the Horden camp as they too fly the Second Division flag against NWCL opposition in Padiham on Saturday

FT RACA 2 HORDEN COMMUNITY WELFARE 1 Attendance 130

RACA- Carr, Skivington, Oldfield, Lynch, Errington, Caygill, Lawson (Burrell 5, Craggs 60), Dart (Todd 68), Calvert (Adotey 60), McLeod (Salim 55), Harrison

It’s hopefully second time lucky for RACA as we try again in our Durham Challenge Cup tie against Horden tomorrow (Wednesday) night, the original game being postponed due to the waterlogged pitch last Wednesday. Since then our fine unbeaten run came to an end at the hands of Thornaby on Saturday, while the ‘Marras’ blew Esh Winning away 5-1 in a Division Two top of the table clash, thus extending their unbeaten record to FIFETEEN league & cup games, so it will be one tough assignment for Nathan & his men.

Kick off is 7:30pm if you can make it. The reward for the winners is a home tie against FC Hartlepool in the 2nd Round

Albion’s impressive unbeaten run is over after dishing up the worst 45 minutes of the season. Dylan Lawson got his first goal for RACA to put his side in front after just 4 minutes, but a defensive collapse overshadowed Lawson’s special moment as Thornaby struck with two first half double whammies, Mackenzie Ciciccio netting in both the 18th & 21st minute, then right at the end of the half, Ciciccio & Luca Nelson both scored within a minute of each other to make it 4-1 at the interval. RACA did improve in the second half, Louis Calvert reducing the deficit in the 57th minute but by then the damage had been done.

A match that an hour before kick off looked like being played in heavy rain & a strong westerly ended up in somewhat more pleasant conditions for the 207 spectators as the rain stopped, the wind died right down & the low sun even came out to cause more than a few visibility problems. Albion were looking to extend their unbeaten run to 11 games following a scintillating September & a decent October to date, & Thornaby, with a healthy away following making their way up from Teesside, on their own run of five games unbeaten.

It took RACA only four minutes to breach the notoriously frugal Thornaby defence, Joe Groves-Forbes racing through the centre of the visitors’ defence before laying the ball to Dylan Lawson who slotted it past keeper Mark Foden to score his first senior goal for Albion & set his side on their way to another game unbeaten…. or so we thought. Thornaby, in their ‘Anderlechtian’ lilac strips, drew level on 18 minutes when Mackenzie Diciccio took full advantage of a poor defensive clearance to fire home from the right flank to open his account for the season, celebrating the occasion with a backflip. If that didn’t take the wind out of Albion’s sails, another Diciccio goal just three minutes later did. A ball lumped forward from defence evaded everyone, & the Thornaby No9 picked up the loose ball & slotted it past the advancing Brogan Colquhoun to turn the game on its head. There was little in the way of meaningful chances for either side until the closing moments of the half when the visitors’ Charlie Hindson launched a ball into the Ryton box & Luca Nelson was there to head flick the ball into the net to make it 3-1. Within a minute 3-1 became 4-1 when an up and under found Diciccio who outpaced his marker & lobbed Colquhoun to surely put the game to bed with a whole half to go, Diciccio completing his hattrick in the process.

HT RACA 1 THORNABY 4

Thornaby started the second half the stronger without ever threatening to get a fifth goal, but it was Ryton who were to score next having been awarded a free kick on the left flank. Rhys McLeod curled the kick round the defensive wall, the ball striking the post, leaving Louis Calvert to tap home & give Albion a lifeline in the 57th minute. While the hosts spent a good while on the front foot in the second half, Thornaby’s relentless closing down & a half fragmented with free kicks, ensured Albion wouldn’t close the deficit any further. To add insult to injury, Ryton also picked up their first red card of the season in the 88th minute, when Abu Salim was dismissed for a two footed lunge on Connor Gant on a day to forget for those of a black and blue persuasion.

FT RACA 2 THORNABY 4 Attendance 207

RACA- Colquhoun, Skivington, Ledger (Caygill 48), Lynch, Errington (cap), Oldfield, Lawson (Salim 75, sent off 88), McLeod, Calvert, Groves-Forbes (Dart 65), Hayton (Todd 58).

ENL Pos: 5th.

Should RACA beat Horden in the re-arranged 1st Round tie in the Durham Challenge Cup, we will face FC Hartlepool in the 2nd Round at the Oldhaulage Stadium. The full draw is-

Stockton Town FC v Shildon AFC
Easington Colliery AFC v Durham United/Consett AFC
Dunston FC v Seaham Red Star/Farringdon Detached
Bishop Auckland v Birtley Town
Hebburn Town FC v Sunderland West End
Ryton & Crawcrook Albion/Horden CW v FC Hartlepool
Spennymoor Town FC v Boldon CA/Whickham FC
West Auckland Town v Gateshead FC

The tie would be played on Wednesday 6th November should we overcome Horden.

With tonight’s Durham Challenge Cup tie against Horden a victim of the weather, next up is a visit from Thornaby on Saturday providing the rain abates. The Teessiders currently sit in 6th place in the table & rather like Chester-le-Street United last week, are on a run of five games unbeaten, aren’t prolific scorers but have a mean defence, having only conceded 14 goals in their 17 league games to date. They’ve also played out three goalless draws, all at home, something we’ve not done for 97 league games now! We’ve played Thornaby a total of 22 times in the Northern League, winning 8, drawing 4 and losing 10 of those games, but last season proved our best yet against The Blues, winning 4-1 at Teesdale Park & 3-0 at home, Fergus Lynch, Aaron Costello & Glenn Caygill each bagging a goal in the game at HQ.

Kick-off on Saturday is 3pm if you want to head down to the Oldhaulage Stadium to see if RACA can push the unbeaten record out to eleven games, hope to see you there.

Tonight’s Durham Challenge Cup First Round tie against Horden CW at the Oldhaulage Stadium has been postponed following the heavy rain.

The match has now been rescheduled for next Wednesday, 16th October.