BIG ONE TOMORROW

Albion can make history tomorrow by progressing to the 3rd Round of the FA Vase for the first time with a win at the Oldhaulage Stadium possibly in front of a record competitive game attendance (currently 475 at our game v Prudhoe YC in August). Standing in the way are well supported North West Counties Football League Premier side West Didsbury and Chorlton FC (from South Manchester) who will be hopefully bringing a healthy away support to boost the numbers. With Newcastle United not playing until Sunday and neighbours Prudhoe YC switching their league fixture v Chester-le-Street United to tonight (Friday), non-league fans in the Tyne Valley can indulge in a double dose of footy entertainment. (I’ll be at Essity Park tonight trying to promote our game to anyone who’ll listen but I know of a few Prudhoe fans are looking to attend both games & there are a few RACA fans who also watch Prudhoe when the fixtures don’t clash)

With the bar area expected to be busy, the club plan to have an outside can bar plus a club souvenir stall selling scarves, badges, what few hats we have left and the matchday programme. We will also be selling Christmas raffle tickets, the proceeds of which will be shared with the RACA Youth Charity. With our share we hope to earmark putting 220 seats into the stand behind the goal & any tickets sold will help us achieve that goal.

It’s forecast to be a dry day to it should be a landmark occasion for Albion & it would be great to give a RACA welcome to any visiting support making the trip. Kick off is at 3pm (7:30 at Prudhoe tonight) so do try & make this special occasion for the club if you can. HOWAY THE RACA!!

An Aaron Jackson hattrick helped FC Hartlepool dump Albion out of the County Cup at the Oldhaulage Stadium and gain some revenge for the 0-5 drubbing in the league handed out to them by RACA two weeks earlier. Despite RACA leading 2-1 at half time from goals from Dan Craggs and Louis Calvert, Pool claimed their Durham Challenge Cup last eight berth with three second half goals albeit two very late ones & two from the penalty spot & inflict Albion’s first cup defeat of the season.

Keen not to suffer a repeat of the 5-0 drubbing handed out by RACA a fortnight earlier, Hartlepool looked revved up for the game & should have taken the lead in the first minute when Joe Spalding broke right through the middle of Albion’s defence but with just goalkeeper Aaron Carr to beat, he blasted it straight at the onrushing stopper. Almost straight after that incident, it was Ryton’s turn to spurn a chance when Matty Hayton collected a ball left by a Pool defender’s fresh air shot & played a super pass to Morgan Dart who crossed to Louis Calvert running into the 6 yard box but he just couldn’t sort his legs out & the ball and the ball spun wide. Albion’s adoption of the long ball game was proving fruitless with Pool picking up the ball and immediately counter-attacking, and it was such a move that led to the game’s opening goal on 26 minutes, Spalding laying the ball to Aaron Jackson who ran between two defenders & slotted past the exposed Carr to put his side 1-0 up. RACA levelled on 32 minutes when Scott Oldfield launched a long ball that ought to have been a simple catch for Hartlepool keeper George Briggs who opted instead to push the ball out, but unfortunately for Briggs the ball landed on the head of Daniel Craggs whose looping header ended up in the Pool net. Ryton turned the game around in the 36^th minute when Matty Harrison showed how the long ball game should work with a great 60 yard ball to Calvert who shrugged off his marker and slotted past Briggs to ensure the hosts went into the interval ahead

HT RACA 2 FC Hartlepool 1

Albion started the second half the brighter of the two & Dale Burrell was to test Briggs on 56 minutes when his strong tackle dispossessed Connor Gales then he went on to fire towards goal forcing the Pool keeper to dive to his left & push the ball to safety. But it was to be Hartlepool who would restore parity & from the penalty spot on 67 minutes when Harrison brought down Spalding just inside the box and the referee awarded the spot kick that Jackson despatched despite Carr guessing correctly. Barely had the dust settled from that when at the other end a mad scramble following a Ryton corner saw a pile of Pool defenders falling on their goal line to prevent a goal with vehement claims from the RACA players that an arm prevented the ball from crossing the line, but the referee was having none of it after much consultation with his assistant and half of the players. The pendulum swung back to the Teessiders in stoppage time when a fine cross from the left wing evaded the Ryton defence & reached Jackson who volleyed home to make it 3-2. As Albion pushed forwards for a late leveller, two Pool substitutes combined to seal the deal on the break, Jacob Cowan crossing to the unmarked Nathan Bayes who was clattered into by Carr & a second penalty was awarded. Bayes took the kick himself, the ball just going under Carr who guessed correctly again but with the last kick of the game it finished 4-2 to FC Hartlepool.

FT RACA 2 FC HARTLEPOOL 4 Attendance 126

RACA- Carr, Groves-Forbes, Oldfield, Craggs, Errington (Harrison 12), Caygill, Dart (Adotey 88), Burrell (Skivington 73), Calvert (Salim 57), McLeod, Hayton (Lawson 60)

On Wednesday we welcome FC Hartlepool back to the Oldhaulage Stadium for the Durham Challenge Cup 2nd Round tie before both sides take on North West Counties Football League opposition in the FA Vase on Saturday with the two clubs being the last survivors from the Northern League Second Division. Back to the County Cup & Pool have beaten Darlington Railway Athletic in the previous round but were here two weeks ago in the league where we triumphed 5-0. Since then FC Hartlepool have twice won handsomely in the league, beating Grangetown BC 4-1 & Washington 4-0 but with the Vase games in the near horizon, both sides may field fringe players for this tie. Kick off is 7:30pm for what should be an interesting tie with the carrot of a likely big name in the 3rd Round.

Full 2nd Round Draw
Stockton Town v Shildon
Easington Colliery v Consett
Dunston v Seaham Red Star
Bishop Auckland v Birtley Town
Hebburn Town v Sunderland West End
Ryton & Crawcrook Albion v FC Hartlepool
Spennymoor Town v Whickham (@ Whickham)
West Auckland Town v Gateshead

Albion went down to a late goal at fellow promotion hopefuls Jarrow at Perth Green this afternoon. It looked like RACA would be seeing out their first goalless draw in 101 games until Ryan Hardie scored an 87th minute winner for the South Tynesiders to give them their sixth league win on the spin.

This game was not one to live long in the memory, the opening minutes being dominated by Jarrow without them really creating anything. Then on 9 minutes came the game’s first talking point. Ryton were awarded a free kick which Rhys McLeod floated into the Jarrow box. Dale Burrell headed across the box for Jack Errington to nod home, but the RACA celebrations were short lived as the linesman flagged for off-side much to the consternation of those in the yellow jerseys. Barely had the visitors finished their protestations when a punt upfield from Jarrow saw the fall bounce to Ryan Hardie who laid on Levi Collins who shot narrowly wide. On the quarter hour mark, Jarrow weren’t far off scoring when a cleared corner fell to Chris Brennan outside the box but his strike went narrowly wide of the cross bar. Again it was the hosts who threatened next, Lutfir Karim heading narrowly wide from a Collins corner in the 22^nd minute, but Collins was to come even closer for Jarrow when he saw his 29^th minute free kick clip the top of the bar. Albion finally gave Jarrow keeper Jak Wells something to do on 36 minutes when a Fergus Lynch cross was poked goalwards by Matty Harrison forcing Wells to tip the ball over his bar. The second moot point of the half came in the 42^nd minute when Jarrow defender Luke Hudson brought down RACA’s Louis Calvert with a two footed lunge, and the Jarrow man can consider himself fortunate only to receive a yellow card from the referee. And that was that for a fairly scrappy first half

HT Jarrow 0 RACA 0

 Last seasons’ top scorer in Division 2, Levi Collins, was continuing to launch dangerous free kicks, this time his 61^st minute flight into the Ryton box was headed by Ryan Keltie who rose above everyone forcing Brogan Colquhoun to acrobatically push the ball over the bar. Despite Albion shading a second half scarce on goalmouth action, Jarrow should have taken the lead on 78 minutes when Hardie squared across the box to Fin Day who was unmarked in the box, but Joe Groves-Forbes anticipated the danger & ran to the goal line to block Day’s  shot on the line. The South Tyneside outfit did finally score, but they left it late, Jonathan Bainbridge lofting a ball forward from half way inside the Ryton half where it was met by the unmarked Hardie who nodded home on 87 minutes to bag the three points. Albion had half a chance to level in stoppage time when Matty Todd got his head onto a cross, but the ball was slightly behind him so couldn’t get the power on the header which Wells gathered safely. So RACA finish off with a league defeat before the cup double header and an uncharacteristic disjoined performance they need out of the system.

FT JARROW 1 RACA 0 Attendance 104

RACA- Colquhoun, Skivington (Groves-Forbes 54), Oldfield, Burrell, Errington, Caygill, Dart, Lynch, Calvert (Todd 84), McLeod (Salim 67), Harrison (Hayton 57).

ENL Pos: 5th.

RACA mark the half way point in the league season with a trip to third placed Jarrow on Saturday. Although the South Tyneside club have been dumped out of two cup competitions of late, they are on a five match winning streak in the league & currently sit four points ahead of Albion having played a game less. The clubs have met 13 times all in the league with the Jarrovians shading it with six wins to our four & three games drawn, including them winning both fixtures last season 2-1. While top scorer Benji Shodeinde has moved on to Birtley, they still have Levi Collins (10) and Ryan Hardie (7) as regular scorers and collectively Jarrow have netted 55 times this season. Meanwhile RACA hope to make it just one defeat in sixteen in the last league game before the big cup double header.

If you’re heading to Perth Green the address for your sat nav is Inverness Road, Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, NE32 4AQ, but be careful not to stray into the bus lane near the ground or you may end up a few quid lighter! Kick off on Saturday is 3pm. Howay the RACA

Ryton & Crawcrook Albion were denied all three points after conceding a late equaliser in a frustrating 2-2 draw with Bedlington Terriers at the Oldhaulage Stadium on Saturday in a match that hit the milestone of 100 Albion league games without a goalless draw.

RACA went into this game on a run of just one defeat in fourteen games but needed to keep up the wins as the four teams above them were also in fine form. The Terriers were having a mixed bag of results & their top scorer this season, Matty Hayton, was ironically lining up against Bedlington, now plying his trade in NE40.

Bedlington got off to a blistering start when they broke swiftly Kai Charlton running down the right wing crossing to Jack Spurr who got his first goal for the Terriers, sliding in to slip the ball past Brogan Colquhoun in the Ryton goal. Only a minute later & it was Bedlington keeper James Lone who was called into action when Glen Caygill floated a free kick into the Terriers’ box & Matty Hayton leapt highest to nod the ball goalwards, but was unable to get one over his former employers as the ball was smothered by Lone.

However the custodian was unable to prevent an equaliser on 7 minutes from a Dan Craggs corner which Dale Burrell headed home for his third goal of the campaign. Spurr had a golden chance to put Bedlington back in front on 12 minutes when he nipped in to take advantage of a short back pass, but Colquhoun was alert to the danger & narrowed the angle sufficiently to deflect the shot to safety with his feet. Hayton went close for Ryton from another corner on 26 minutes when Burrell headed the floating ball towards him, but his headed effort glanced off the top of the bar. Colquhoun was called into action when a one two in the box between Spurr & James Hampson saw the latter jab a shot home that the Albion keeper block with his feet.

 RACA took the lead on 36 minutes with a move that started with dogged determination from Hayton not to lose the ball in midfield despite the attentions of two opponents, eventually the ball went wide to Rhys McLeod whose cross was headed home by Louis Calvert for his 12^th of the season who moved to the top of the club scoring stakes ahead of Abu Salim. Bedlington responded with a shot from Jordan Stephenson who turned his marker but shot just wide. The hosts almost made it 3-1 just before the interval when Craggs launched a ball into the box & Calvert just beat Lone to the ball, but it trickled wide of the post.

HT RACA 2 Bedlington Terriers 1

The second half saw less chances created than the first but Spurr was again causing the Ryton defence trouble in the 64^th minute beating two opponents before drilling a ball across the box past Colquhoun but Jack Ledger was there to hoof the ball clear with Stephenson waiting unmarked at the far post to tap home. The visitors continued to create chances on their right flank & on 75 minutes, Rhys Brunton delivered a fine cross which Stephenson just couldn’t connect cleanly with. Albion were struggling to create meaningful chances, though Matty Todd beat his marker on 81^st minute but fired wide from the edge of the box. A much better RACA chance came in the 85^th minute when a Jack Errington free kick was met by Matty Harrison’s head & he brought a great one handed save from Lone. That proved to be an important save for the Terriers as they got their equaliser from a corner in the 88^th minute. Luke Ogden sent the ball to the back post where Spurr was waiting to head home off the post to salvage a point.

 Ryton weren’t quite done with though & Bedlington had Lone to thank in stoppage time as he clawed a fine Caygill shot from distance to safety that looked destined for the top corner, but the points were shared in what was probably a fair result. Albion stay 5th in the table despite the dropped points.

FT RACA 2 BEDLINGTON TERRIERS 2 Attendance 230

RACA- Colquhoun, Skivington, Ledger (Symons 85), Burrell (Oldfield 52), Errington, Caygill, Craggs, Dart, Calvert, McLeod (Todd 75), Hayton (Harrison 64)

Albion’s five match home streak ends on Saturday when Bedlington Terriers are the visitors to the Oldhaulage Stadium. The Terriers currently sit in 12th place in the table but are on a poor mini run, collecting just one point from their last three games, their last win being a 2-1 win over Sunderland RCA at the end of September. The Northumberland outfit haven’t had their problems to seek of late, having to cede their FA Vase tie with Northallerton after not being able to fulfil the fixture & seeing an exodus of players in early October, many joining Newcastle Benfield. And of course our final game of last season saw the Terriers have to switch the game to Kingsley Park due to issues with the playing surface at the Dr Pitt. That game ended 1-1 but our scheduled home fixture was a 3-1 win for an impressive Bedlington side that really caught the eye that day. We’ve played Bedlington 22 times over the years in the Northern League, the Terriers having won 13 games, we’ve won 6 and there have been 3 draws. Bedlington also hold bragging rights in the cup having won the only tie in which we’ve met, that being a 2-1 win in the League Cup back in 2016/17

Back to the present & now things have settled down at the Dr Pitt Stadium, with new faces in place there’s a renewed optimism that the club can bounce back to former glories.

Tomorrow though they will face a RACA side on a tremendous run of form winning eleven of the last fourteen league and cup games, the latest being the impressive 5-0 win over FC Hartlepool on Wednesday night. A little milestone can be reached tomorrow if a 0-0 is avoided- then Ryton will have gone 100 league games without a goalless draw, the last blank being a home game with Chester-le-Street United way back at the start of the 2022/23 season. Kick off is 3pm if you can make it, then it’s the luxury of a match-free midweek before a trip to Jarrow next Saturday. Howay RACA!

Albion followed on from Saturday’s Vase win with a comfortable 5-0 win over FC Hartlepool to keep the pressure on the teams above them in Division 2. Leading 3-0 at half time from goals from Jack Errington & a brace from Morgan Dart, the home side didn’t sit back & scored another two goals early in the second half with strikes from Matty Harrison and Louis Calvert. Pool to their credit kept on battling to the end but were unable to breach the Ryton rearguard.

Albion were hoping to maintain their 100% record over FC Hartlepool at home & could have got off to a great start in the 5th minute when Rhys McLeod fired over a low cross from the left wing but Louis Calvert just couldn’t make contact to tap the ball into an empty net. The hosts were looking dangerous again in the 9th minute when Josh Skivington floated a free kick into the box & Matty Harrison leapt highest to head towards goal forcing a fine save from Pool keeper George Briggs who pushed the ball to the relative safely of a corner. Unfortunately for Briggs, the respite was only temporary as from McLeod’s corner, Jack Errington took advantage of a bounce off a defender’s leg to stab home from close range to put RACA ahead. Morgan Dart called Briggs into action two minutes later, his shot being parried & Aidan Chainey just got to the loose ball first to clear to safety. Hartlepool’s first good chance came in the 19th minute when early substitute Kris Summers looped a pass to Mikey McKee whose low shot was just deflected off keeper Brogan Colquhoun for a corner. But was Ryton who were to extend the lead on 29 minutes when a ball was launched upfield that evaded everyone except Morgan Dart who got goal side of his marked & arrowed home past Briggs. Albion’s third goal & Dart’s second on 35 minutes was very similar with Dart’s speed in picking up a ball punted forward saw him beat the Pool defence & fire past Briggs from a tighter angle than his first goal. So RACA went into the interval with a healthy lead & at that stage there was little to think that they’d let this advantage slip.

HT RACA 3 FC Hartlepool 0

There was a touch of controversy about Albion’s fourth goal in the 51st minute when Dale Burrell may have clipped Hartlepool defender Jacob Lamb on his run down the right wing touchline, referee Stephen Clifford waving play on despite Lamb tumbling to the floor. Undeterred Burrell continued his run & squared the ball to an unmarked Harrison who won’t score an easier goal all season, tapping the ball into an empty net. So incensed were the visitors, that while the Ryton players were celebrating, two Pool players were sent to the sin bin for comments made to Mr Clifford. Despite the two man deficit, the visitors created a decent chance in the 54th minute, McGee forcing a save from Colquhoun, the rebound being fired over by Smith. However RACA took advantage of the numerical difference on 58 minutes when Jack Ledger found Fergus Lynch who laid the ball to Calvert who left his marker in his wake and slotted home to make it 5-0. Calvert chanced his arm with a dipping shot on 62 minutes but it went narrowly wide. Hartlepool despite the hopeless situation kept plugging away & McGee hammered a 69th minute shot against the Ryton post. Calvert should have made it 6-0 in the 73rd minute when McLeod found him unmarked with just the keeper to beat, but he managed to sky his effort from four yards out. McGee came close to a consolation goal in the 75th minute, firing just wide from a difficult angle. Then it was McLeod’s turn to miss an easy scoring opportunity with just three minutes to go when Calvert charged down a loose ball that Briggs was trying to collect, having won that duel he squared the ball to the Ryton No10 who screwed his shot badly high, wide & handsome. Thankfully that didn’t matter too much as the game was well & truly won by then though RACA stay in 5th place despite the win.

FT RACA 5 FC HARTLEPOOL 0 Attendance 218

RACA- Colquhoun, Skivington, Oldfield (Ledger 52), Burrell (Craggs 54), Errington, Caygill, Lynch (Hayton 59), Dart (Groves-Forbes 59), Calvert , McLeod , Harrison (Todd 59)

ENL Pos: 5th.

After the euphoria of our two cup victories, it’s back to the bread and butter of league action as we welcome FC Hartlepool to the Oldhaulage Stadium on Wednesday night. Pool are the only other Division Two survivors in the FA Vase and they too face NWCFL Premier League opposition in Ashton Town with a trip to Ashton-in-Makerfield for them. In the league, Pool are the ultimate mid table side with eight wins, eight defeats & a zero goal difference and are marginally more successful on the road than at Grayfields Enclosure. Best results for FC Hartlepool this season are two 4-0 wins over Alnwick in the league & at Sunderland RCA in the FA Vase Preliminary Round. Top scorer is Mikey McGee with eight goals in the league & FA Vase, & don’t forget we also face Pool at home in the Durham Challenge Cup next month. Kick off on Wednesday night is 7:30pm, if you can get down to cheer on the lads on that would be great though we know RACA home fans have had to shell out a bit with all these home games & the cup successes. Hope to see you there though.

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.