The club have been busy bolstering the injury ridden squad by signing Luke Page from Sunderland West End, Thomas White as goalkeeper cover from Haltwhistle Jubilee, Luke McCabe from Seaham Red Star and former Bedlington Terrier Joe Thompson. More details on these lads later
After a free Saturday, our next scheduled game weather permitting is on Wednesday evening when we welcome Sunderland RCA for a re-arranged game at NE40 after a gap of 14 years since they were last up. The clubs did meet at Meadow Park earlier this season where RACA edged out the Wearsiders 3-2 with goals from Calvert, Skivington and Salim earning the three points. Following relegation last season RCA have had a disappointing season this time round too, sitting down in 20th place in the table but have at least seen an upturn in fortunes on the road, having just lost one of their last four away games. Sunderland will go into the game relatively fresh having seen their derby game against Sunderland West End on Saturday postponed due to a frozen pitch.
The weather forecast isn’t great for Wednesday with sub-zero temperatures expected but if it does go ahead, then the kick off is at the usual 7:30pm. Keep up to date with developments of Wednesday via our Twitter feed, the Northern League website & on here. Here’s hoping for a go-ahead & Howay the RACA.
This month’s lucky winners are-
1st prize No 1 D Cartner who wins £100
2nd Prize No 56 D Willis who wins £75
3rd Prize No 70 C Thompson who wins £25
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 have signed midfielder Roman Sparks from neighbours Prudhoe YC Seniors, the 21 year old having also played for Gateshead Rutherford in the Northern Alliance Premier League. Welcome aboard Roman.
Ryton threw two points away as they let a 1-0 lead slip in stoppage time at the Mo Mowlem today. Having led for most of the game thanks to Matty Todd’s 9th minute goal, they drifted from total dominance to hanging on to the lead as the game progressed, but Sam Barnard’s 93rd minute leveller for Town ensured the points were shared.
MATCH SUMMARY
Albion finished 2024 with a trip to 17th placed Redcar Town, hoping to make it two away wins in three days & took little time in taking control of the game. In the fourth minute, RACA had three goal attempts in quick succession, Joe Groves Forbes raced forward & laid the ball to Matty Todd whose shot was saved by Town keeper Will Cowey, the loose ball was gathered up by Rhys McLeod whose shot was also blocked by Cowey, the loose ball falling to Morgan Dart who didn’t hit his first time strike cleanly & Redcar defender Jake Williams-Muthana was able to get himself in the way of the shot and this time the ball was hoofed to safety. However the visitors were ahead just two minutes later when Scott Oldfield found Louis Calvert in the Redcar box, his acrobatic volley crashing off the bar, landing on the head of Todd who nodded home for his second goal of the season. At that point it looked like RACA could go on and win the game comfortably as Redcar were offering next to nothing up front, but as the half wore on Albion posed less and less of a threat and Redcar steadied themselves and finally got a foothold in the game although the visitors were still creating more chances without ever seriously threatening Cowey’s goal, the nearest being a Calvert shot on 39 minutes the wasn’t too far wide of the Town goal. Redcar’s best chance came just before half time when Jos Storr broke down the left wing & crossed to the onrushing Mustapha Abdullahi who just couldn’t quite make contact with the ball as if he had, he had half an empty net to aim at.
HT Redcar Town 0 RACA 1
The hosts continued to grow into the game after the interval & a move in the 56th minute saw Connor Smith set up Liam Williams who got his shot on target but it lacked power & was a comfortable gather for Colquhoun. Calvert put an effort a yard over Redcar’s bar on 63 minutes & Rhys McLeod & Morgan Dart both brought out easy saves out of Cowey but in truth there were few real chances to excite the 107 spectators. There was a bit of a scare for Ryton on 83 minutes when Abdullahi jinked his way into the box & while his progress was checked by both defender & keeper there was a significant appeal for a penalty but referee Daniel Forbes wasn’t interested although he did have a brief consultation with linesman Andrew Tyrell. The Teessiders however, were to have the last laugh in stoppage time when a punt upfield from Cowey was flicked on by Abdullahi to substitute Sam Barnard who slotted home with his first ever Northern League goal to rescue a point amid scenes of jubilation on the home bench. Such a late leveller makes it feel like two points dropped & there was the added blow for Ryton of Dale Burrell looking to have picked up a nasty looking knee injury. On the positive side with Thornaby losing, Albion sneak back into the play-off places with the point.
FT REDCAR TOWN 1 RACA 1 Attendance 107
RACA- Colquhoun, Groves-Forbes, Oldfield, Grieveson, Burrell (Cairns 87), Caygill, Dart, Lynch, Calvert (Hoggins 79), McLeod (Ledger 76), Todd (Adotey 62)
Little time for Albion to bask in derby glory as we head to the Mo Mowlem Memorial Ground to face Redcar Town tomorrow (Saturday). Redcar sit in 17th place in the table but don’t look to be in any relegation danger & beat strugglers Grangetown BC on Boxing Day to put a healthy gap between them and the second bottom placed side. This is Town’s fourth season in the Northern League & out of our seven games against them, all league games, the Teessiders have won 5 to our 2 with no draws to date, though we beat Redcar 2-1 at home in September with Fergus Lynch & Jack Errington on the scoresheet for us. If you’re planning heading down the A19 to cheer on the lads, the full address of Redcar’s home is Mo Mowlem Memorial Park- 19 Trunk Rd, Redcar TS10 5BW. Howay the RACA!!
FT PRUDHOE YC SENIORS 0 RACA 1
Albion finally put one over their Tyne Valley neighbours at the sixth attempt winning 1-0 in the early kick off at Essity Park. Morgan Dart’s first half goal was the difference in the sides in a poor game that was riddled with stoppages particularly in the second half, but it was the occasion and result that mattered for the Albion fans as they await how the other play off chasers get on in a day of staggered kick offs.
MATCH SUMMARY
This much awaited Tyne Valley derby looked as if it briefly may have been in doubt as from nowhere the fog off the Tyne rolled in during the warm ups, shrouding the pitch and causing the kick off to be put back 15 minutes to allow the bright sun overhead to burn off the mist. The game started off as brightly as the now mist free Essity Park, the first chance of note falling to RACA on 4 minutes when Fergus Lynch flicked on a ball from a throw in to Louis Calvert whose shot from a tight angle was palmed out for a corner by Tom Dawson in the Prudhoe goal. The Seniors’ first chance of note was on 8 minutes when a fine ball across the width of the pitch from Lucca Taylor found Matty Law who raced down the right wing, cut in & tried to lob Albion keeper Brogan Colquhoun but saw his shot bounce back off the post. There was more than a little controversy on 27 minutes when Prudhoe’s Michael Wright was brought down on the edge of the Ryton box & initially it looked as if referee Ellie Mason had awarded a penalty to the hosts, but in the end a free kick was given & after much protestation from the Prudhoe players the free kick proved anti-climatic as it was blasted straight into the RACA wall by Taylor & away to safety. How pivotal that was to prove as RACA took the lead a minute later when Glenn Caygill lobbed the ball upfield to Morgan Dart who sprung the off side trap, darted forward & slotted the ball past the advancing Dawson. The Seniors immediately responded with Law forcing Colquhoun to dive low & block his low drive but that was the nearest they or Albion would come to adding to the goal tally in the first half
HT Prudhoe YC 0 RACA 1
Unfortunately the second half of this derby game was remembered more for countless stoppages, some but not all, due to injuries as a result of meaty challenges, although Calvert did test Dawson on the hour mark with a clever dipping shot that the keeper gathered at the second attempt. Albion were reduced to ten men following the ugliest of the industrial challenges on 66 minutes when Fergus Lynch and Prudhoe’s Liam Dalton had a coming together going for a high ball but Lynch’s feet were on the high side & Dalton clearly came of worse, the result of which was a red card for Lynch & Dalton going off with an arm injury. The extra man didn’t seem to spur Prudhoe on too much, in fact Ryton had a penalty claim waived away on 73 minutes, and ended up against ten men when in stoppage time, Prudhoe’s Jordan Plunkett also got his marching orders after leading into a challenge with Charlie Grieveson. Albion held on to the lead without a great deal of difficulty & finally got the better of their neighbours. Apart from the result, RACA fans would have been particularly pleased to see Richie Hoggins make a cameo appearance as substitute following his health issues. The win puts a bit of daylight between ourselves & Prudhoe although the other key results didn’t go in Albion’s favour.
FT PRUDHOE YC SENIORS 0 RACA 1 Attendance 286
RACA- Colquhoun, Skivington (Groves-Forbes 46), Oldfield, Burrell, Errington, Caygill, Lynch (s/o), Grieveson, Calvert (Todd 80), Dart (Hoggins 87), Hayton (McLeod 70)
Albion make the short trip to Essity Park on Boxing Day to kick off the Ebac Northern League’s festive calendar with a 10:30am kick off against Prudhoe YC Seniors. RACA’s record against the Seniors since they joined the Northern League in 2022 makes grim reading, with us picking up a solitary point in the five games we’ve played to date & the men in red and black have already beaten us 2-0 on our own patch this season so we’re well overdue putting one over former Albion stalwart Mark McMeekin who is Prudhoe’s current manager. The Seniors are on a decent run in the league at least, having gone eight games unbeaten since losing at home to Darlington Town in October, but their upward trajectory has been tempered a little with the last three games being drawn. There’s precious little to separate the clubs in the league table, both on 46 points and only a superior goal difference of one keeping Ryton ahead of Prudhoe but we do have a game in hand.
It will be interesting to see how the early kick off influences the attendance, hopefully a few neutrals planning on taking in two games will be present, but it would be great to see plenty of black and blue scarves in the ground as there always is on this occasion. If you’ve never been to Essity Park, the post code for your sat nav is NE42 5EH. Have a great Christmas & hope to see lots of you at the game. Howay the RACA!
Merry Christmas from everyone at Ryton & Crawcrook Albion Football Club!
The Draw for RACA’s Christmas Raffle was done today & the winners are-
1st Prize-Ticket Number 0986 which wins 4 corporate Newcastle United tickets in The Four Corners with a 3 course meal.
2nd Prize-Ticket Number 3420 which wins a Marks and Spencer Indulgence of Christmas Collection Hamper
3rd Prize-Ticket Number 3438 which wins a Marks and Spencer Joy of Christmas Collection Hamper
4th Prize-Ticket Number 4053 which wins a Marks and Spencer Deluxe Collection Hamper
5th Prize-Ticket Number 3711 which wins Afternoon Tea for Two at No19 Close House
Congratulations to all our winners and a big thanks to everyone who took part in the raffle.
