RACA impress with 6-3 win at RCA

Ryton & Crawcrook Albion came from an early goal down to beat First Division Sunderland RCA 6-3 in a thrilling pre-season friendly on Tuesday night.

The hosts took an early lead through Ashley Lavan but Albion responded quickly with an equaliser inside ten minutes thanks to Aaron Costello. Rhys McLeod then edged the visitors ahead with a smart finish. Lee Waugh extended the lead from the penalty spot before Costello added his second before half time for a commanding 4-1 lead.

The Wearsiders pulled a goal back through a trialist early in the second period but Costello then completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot before Waugh added his second goal of the night with a lovely strike. John Anderson reduced the margin of defeat for the home side in the closing stages.

Joint Manager Andrew Waugh – in sole charge today with Nathan Beckham away – will be hoping for more of the same on Saturday as RACA travel to Carlisle City in the final pre-season match and make it six out of six friendlies ahead of the new Ebac Northern League Division Two season next weekend.

PRE-SEASON GOALS: Sunderland RCA 3-6 RACA (18-07-2023)

Dominant Albion ease to win at Stobswood

Ryton & Crawcrook Albion eased to a 10-1 win over Stobswood Welfare in their latest pre-season friendly on Friday night.

Despite the torrential rain, Albion produced a strong performance against the newly-promoted Northern Alliance Premier Division side scoring 5 goals in each half.

Albion’s goals came from Richard Hoggins (3), Rhys McLeod (3), Ryan Smith (2), Lee Waugh and Kristian Sands.

Disappointingly, the hosts did get a late consolation goal to deny Albion a clean sheet.

Nathan Beckham and Andrew Waugh’s side were due to travel to Seaton Delaval next – in their penultimate friendly on Wednesday – but the opposition have had to sadly pull out. News of a possible replacement fixture will be announced in due course.

The final pre-season fixture will see RACA make the trip to Carlisle a week on Saturday, 22nd July.

PRE-SEASON GOALS: Stobswood Welfare 1-10 RACA (14-07-2023)

RACA claim hard-fought win at Newbiggin

Aaron Costello’s first half goal was enough to secure Ryton & Crawcrook Albion a hard-fought 1-0 win over AFC Newbiggin on Tuesday evening.

The Northern Alliance Premier Division outfit offered a stern test for Nathan Beckham and Andrew Waugh’s side, who weren’t at their best with the opposition creating plenty of problems throughout.

However, the latest win adds to earlier pre-season victories over Newcastle Benfield and West Allotment Celtic.

Stobswood Welfare will be hosting Albion in the next friendly on Friday night.

PRE-SEASON GOALS: AFC Newbiggin 0-1 RACA (11-07-2023)

RACA record win over West Allotment

Ryton & Crawcrook Albion recorded a 1-0 win over West Allotment Celtic in their latest pre-season friendly on Saturday.

Lewis Henry’s strike midway through the second half was enough for Nathan Beckham and Andrew Waugh’s side in a mostly even encounter on the 4G pitch at Coach Lane.

After two matches (and two victories) against Northern League First Division sides, Albion travel to Alliance sides AFC Newbiggin on Tuesday and Stobswood Welfare on Friday as the build-up towards the new season continues.

PRE-SEASON GOALS: West Allotment Celtic 0-1 RACA (08-07-2023)

Albion win pre-season opener at Benfield with Costello double

A brace from Aaron Costello earned Ryton & Crawcrook Albion a 2-1 victory at Newcastle Benfield on Tuesday night in the first pre-season match ahead of the 2023-24 season.

Costello deservedly headed Albion into the lead at Sam Smith’s Park midway through the first half from a corner. The First Division outfit levelled early in the second period with a lovely finish from No.3 and then threatened to turn things around, but Costello latched onto a Scott Bamborough ball on the halfway line to run free and cooly slot the winner 20 minutes from the end.

Nathan Beckham and Andrew Waugh’s side next travel to nearby Coach Lane to face West Allotment Celtic on Saturday, with kick off scheduled at 2.15pm.

PRE-SEASON GOALS: Newcastle Benfield 1-2 RACA (04-07-2023)

100 Club: July 2023 Winners

The draw for July’s RACA 100 Club was held on Saturday.

The winners are:

  •  No.19 W Graham £100
  •  No.52 N Beckwith £75
  •  No.15 M Hands £25

Congratulations to the lucky winners! The next draw is scheduled for August 5, 2023.

To join the RACA 100 Club or for more details, please contact Mr Paul Le-Patourel on 07720413390.

Thank you for clean up day!

A very big thank you to everyone who has given up their time to help tidy up Kingsley Park on Saturday.

Weeding, painting, scrubbing, jet washing, repairing, litter-picking… all being done by our brilliant supporters! Thank you!

We will have follow-up sessions most weekends leading up to the new season to finish anything outstanding.

Clean up day 2023

It’s our big annual club clean up day at Ryton & Crawcrook Albion on Saturday as we look to get our Kingsley Park ground ready for the new season!

Cleaning, painting, repairing, weeding, litter picking… Any one who can help with these tasks please join us from 9am-5pm (with tools if you have!).

Thank you!

WIN! Two Season Tickets for 2023/24

We are giving you the chance to win two Ryton & Crawcrook Albion home Season Tickets for the 2023/24 Ebac Northern League Divison Two.

To enter, simply ‘follow’ our social media profile “RACAFC1970” on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and ‘share’ the competition post.

The competition closes on Thursday 6th July 2023 and the winner will be drawn on Friday 7th July 2023. See competition terms & conditions below.

Good luck!


Terms & Conditions:

Please read these competition terms & conditions carefully. If you enter this competition, we will assume that you have read these rules and that you agree to them.

  1. Entrants must be 16 years of age or over.
  2. There is no entry fee to enter this competition.
  3. The competition is not open to employees of Ryton & Crawcrook Albion Football Club or those involved in the competition, their families or anyone professionally connected with the prize draw.
  4. Route to entry for the competition is to follow the club’s social media profile “RACAFC1970” on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and sharing the competition post.
  5. Closing date for entry will be 11.59am, Thursday 6th July 2023. After this time and date, no further entries to the competition will be permitted.
  6. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
  7. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions.
  8. The prize is as follows: 2 adult Season Tickets to Ryton & Crawcrook Albion Football Club’s home Ebac Northern League Division Two games for the 2023/24 season at Kingsley Park.
  9. The prize is as stated and no cash or other alternatives will be offered. The prizes are not transferable and must not be re-sold. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.
  10. For the avoidance of doubt, the prize does not include any cup matches or fixtures of any junior/youth or women’s teams held at Kingsley Park.
  11. Winners will be chosen at random, from all entries received and verified by promoter.
  12. The winner will be drawn on Friday 7th July 2023.
  13. The winner will be notified by Twitter, Facebook or Instagram direct/private message and must respond before Friday 14th July 2023. If the winner cannot be contacted or does not claim the prize in that time, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.
  14. The promoter will notify the winner when and where the prize can be collected/is delivered.
  15. The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
  16. The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by English law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England.
  17. The winner agrees to the use of his/her name and image in any publicity material, as well as their entry. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with all relevant UK data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.
  18. The winner’s name will be available 28 days after closing date by emailing the following address: [email protected].

Promoter: Ryton & Crawcrook Albion FC, Kingsley Park, Tyne & Wear, NE40 3SN.

Last updated: 22/06/2023.

2023/24 Northern League fixtures released

The fixtures have been released for the new season and Ryton & Crawcrook Albion will begin the 2023/24 Ebac Northern Football League Division 2 campaign with a home match against Horden CW at Kingsley Park on Saturday 29 July.

Nathan Beckham and Andrew Waugh’s side then face back-to-back away matches with a trip to Jarrow on Wednesday 2 August followed by a visit to newly-promoted FC Hartlepool three days later.

There are ten league matches provisionally scheduled for the first five weeks of the season and six consecutive midweek rounds in a packed opening two months.

The regular season is scheduled to conclude on Saturday 20 April 2024 with Easington Colliery visiting Crawcrook.

The champions of Division 2 at the end of the season will again be promoted automatically to the Northern League’s top tier whilst a four-team play-off will be used to decide the second team to go up. The bottom three sides in the expanded 22-team division will be “liable to relegation”.

Ryton & Crawcrook will welcome neighbours Prudhoe YC Seniors in the first Tyne Valley derby of the season on 23 September, with the short trip to Essity Park scheduled for 24 February.

Prudhoe-based Newcastle University visit Albion on 11 November with the return on 6 January.

Newcastle Blue Star, who were promoted from the Northern Alliance Premier Division, will host RACA at Scotswood on Boxing Day, with the return fixture scheduled for Easter Monday on 1 April 2024.

Yarm & Eaglescliffe – promoted from the North Riding Football League – visit NE40 on 30 September with the reverse fixture at Billingham Town’s Bedford Terrace on 9 March. Hartlepool, who were promoted from the Wearside League, visit RACA HQ on 20 January.

The only team to be relegated from the first division last term – Thornaby – host RACA on Teesside on 9 September while the return fixture will be on 17 February.

Having played most of their first season in the NL at the Sunderland Hub last year, Chester-le-Street United should be hosting us at their Riverside home on 25 November.

The full league fixture list is available on the season fixture graphic below. You can sync RACA’s 2023/24 fixtures directly to your calendar via Apple, Google or Outlook.

Fixtures are subject to change. Please check the website Matches page and follow our social media channels (@RACAFC1970) for updates.

Meanwhile, there are a number of “free” Saturdays in the fixture schedule to allow for any postponed fixtures to be rescheduled and for FA club competitions.

The FA Vase First and Second Qualifying Rounds are scheduled for 26 August and 23 September respectively with the draw expected to be released on 7 July.

Draws for the first two rounds of the Northern League’s two cup competitions – the Brooks Mileson Memorial League Cup and the Ernest Armstrong Memorial Cup – were released on Saturday. The cup fixtures are yet to be scheduled.

The opening round of the Durham County FA Challenge Cup is set to kick off in mid-September.

Ryton & Crawcrook Albion FC 2023/24 Season Fixtures. (Click on graphic to enlarge.)