Albion’s play off hopes took a jolt with a 3-1 home defeat to in form Sunderland West End, the home side looking uncharacteristically disjointed for the majority of the game. An even first half finished goalless but Craig Linsell put the visitors ahead soon after the restart. Taylor Ford doubled the advantage on 76 minutes before Dale Burrell put RACA back in the game with an 85th minute reply. As the hosts pressed for the leveller, West End broke away & Zouhair Benali wrapped things up with a stoppage time winner.

MATCH SUMMARY

For the second weekend Albion hosted a mid-table side who were on the up, this time the much improved Sunderland West End visited NE40 and they were to leave with all three points. There was early drama in the West End goalmouth when in the second minute Rhys McLeod set up Morgan Dart whose initial shot was blocked by Sunderland keeper Neal Bussey, the ball bouncing back to Dart whose second effort was blocked by Brad Foster who was subsequently foxed by the spin on the ball. His attempt at a clearance spun back into the danger area where Louis Calvert flicked the ball to Dart whose shot was again blocked by Bussey, the ball landing at Foster’s feet & this time he was able to clear his area successfully. West End’s first chance came in the 12^th minute when a John Anderson shot squirmed under Ryton keeper Brogan Colquhoun’s body and looked to be trickling into the net, but Colquhoun just managed to recover in time to smother the ball and prevent the goal despite the attentions of Zouhair Benali who was hoping for the easy tap in. Anderson wasn’t far off again in the 23^rd minute when his free kick whistled narrowly over the RACA bar, while on the half hour, a somewhat reluctant solo run from Albion defender Charlie Grieveson resulted in a shot on target, but it was straight at Bussey who saved comfortably. Calvert brought another save out of Bussey on 37 minutes, but in truth, Albion’s goal attempts lacked the edge to incovenience the Sunderland keeper too much.

HT RACA 1 Sunderland West End 0

Not for the first time recently Albion started a second half in a sluggish manner only this time they paid for their lethargy after only two minutes of the second period when defender Scott Oldfield was caught out while trying to shepherd the ball back to Colquhoun and West End top scorer Craig Linsell dispossessed him and slotted home. The home side continued to look jaded & were giving the ball away far too much for manager Nathan Beckham’s liking, and on 73 minutes Taylor Ford took full advantage going on a fine solo run from the half way line, leaving Ryton players for dead, and firing home to make it 2-0. On 75 minutes Richie Hoggins came on as a Ryton substitute and his first touch was a bullet header from a corner which Bussey had to dive to push away to safety. This seemed to spur on Albion who finally began to put some pressure on West End & the reward came on 85minutes when Dale Burrell headed home from a corner for his 5^th goal of the season. Ryton continued to press for the equaliser & almost got one out of nowhere when deep into stoppage time, Glenn Caygill hit a sweet strike from 20 yards which called on Bussey to pull off another fine save, pushing the ball out for a corner. For the corner kick, keeper Colquhoun joined the action in the Sunderland box, but the tactic backfired as the Wearsiders cleared the ball and Benali raced forward with only sole defender Josh Skivington to beat, the Sunderland man taking the ball wide and firing home past the Albion defence who were storming back from the opposition half, to wrap up the points.

So Albion lose a home league game for the first time since the defeat to Newcastle University in November, but the results of the play-off rivals weren’t unfavourable on the whole. The weekend could have been much worse results-wise and now next Saturday’s trip to Thornaby takes on even more significance with the Teessiders also suffering a home defeat. Albion drop to 6^th place, while West End move up to 9^th but can’t reach the play offs as they only have three games left to play.

FT RACA 1 SUNDERLAND WEST END 3 Attendance 251

RACA- Colquhoun, Grieveson, Ledger (Hoggins 75), Page, Oldfield (Hayton 68), Caygill, Lynch (Skivington 83), Burrell, Calvert, McLeod (Bissett 54), Dart (Errington 57)

Albion host in form Sunderland West End at the Oldhaulage Stadium on Saturday as the push for a play off place continues. Ryton dropped to 5th place on Wednesday evening following Esh Winning’s narrow win over Grangetown & face a West End side sitting in 10th place although they have played more league games than the rest of the teams in Division 2. Although having a modest start to the season, the Wearsiders are in rude form in the league only losing to Jarrow in their last eight league games, but they were knocked out of the E Armstrong Cup by out of form Chester-le-Street Town in midweek. RACA won the reverse fixture at the Ford Hub 3-1 in September, debutants Matty Hayton & a Morgan Dart (2) netting the three goals while Craig Linsel scored the Sunderland goal. Last Saturday’s win over Boldon ended the sequence of 1-1 draws at home and made it just one defeat in the last ten games, which is definitely play off form at the very least.

Michael Baxter won’t be lining up for us though as he’s moved on to Chester-le-Street Town, his fourth Northern League transfer alone this season, while in the opposite direction, we welcome back Declan Bissett who makes the switch back from Moor Park to the Albion.

Kick off is at the usual 3pm, & hope to see plenty of black & blue clad fans there. Howay the RACA!

This month’s lucky winners are-

1st prize No 33 R Hands who wins £100

2nd Prize No 40 K Wilkinson who wins £75

3rd Prize No 91 C Dixon who wins £25

next draw is on 05/04/2025

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 survived a late onslaught from Boldon to take all three points at the Oldhaulage Stadium. Leading from Luke Page’s 22nd minute goal Ryton were very comfortable at the interval as the visitors barely laid a glove on their hosts. The second half was a different story as the longer the game went on, the more Boldon dominated & the home fans were relieved to hear the final whistle without conceding an equaliser as has been the case in the last three home games. The three points propel Ryton up to 4th place, our highest position since October.

MATCH SUMMARY

Albion welcomed Boldon to HQ needing to build on last Saturday’s win, but facing a side enjoying their recent away days having won their last six on the road and no doubt keen to avenge the 7-0 drubbing in the reverse fixture on South Tyneside.

The first half chance fell to Ryton’s Luke Page in the 4^th minute, being set up by a Morgan Dart cross, but he rather scuffed his shot and the ball went harmlessly wide. Page did much better in the 22^nd minute when a fine RACA move ended up with the opening goal. Louis Calvert ran down the right wing and played the ball to Matty Hayton in the box, who after some neat footwork laid the ball to Rhys McLeod who was closed down by a yellow wall of defenders so played the ball back to Page whose low shot went in the corner of the net past the despairing dive of keeper Oliver Walker.

Boldon offered little threat up front, a shot from distance from Harrison Hart on the half hour mark that was comfortably smothered by RACA keeper Brogan Colquhoun being the sole effort of note. Hayton had half a chance to make it 2-0 in the 38^th minute when a Josh Skivington shot was blocked by a Boldon defender, the ball spinning to the feet of Hayton but he put his effort over the bar, and that was it for the first 45 minutes.

HT RACA 1 Boldon CA 0

Ryton were desperate not to let this lead slip as they had done in the last three homes & could have doubled the advantage in the 49^th minute when Calvert picked up a loose ball & struck it goalwards only for Walker to pull off a fine save pushing the ball out to his left. The visitors responded with a shot from John Murray who benefitted from Alex O’ Donnell’s persistence in harrying Albion’s Charlie Grieveson, finally dispossessing him & squaring the ball to Murray whose first touch let him down and a a consequence he could only poke the ball straight to Colquhoun. Hayton had another chance for Albion in the 55^th minute, shrugging off his marker but again he put too much air to his shot and the ball sailed over the bar. O’ Donnell was in the thick of things a minute later when Page broke through into the Boldon box & from certain angles the Boldon defender looked to have pulled off a fine defensive tackle on Page, but on reviewing goal-cam footage it did rather look like a foul. Having to make a decision in real time, referee Mr Rowe had to make a snap decision & thought O’ Donnell played the ball cleanly and so the visitors maybe got away with one. As the game progressed Boldon began to look more and more dangerous although the Ryton rearguard were restricting clear cut chances. Boldon substitute Joshua Houghton brought a comfortable save out of Colquhoun in the 85^th minute & the Albion keeper equally easily gathered a Robbie Gateshill free kick three minutes into stoppage time. Mr Rowe was embroiled in another penalty area moot point in the last minute of stoppage time when there was a loud appeal for handball from the Boldon players and bench, but the referee declined to give the spot kick. There was still another chance for the visitors to grab a draw, Aaron Williams looped the ball over the Ryton defence but it was just beyond the reach of Gateshill’s outstretched leg & RACA held on for the win.

Albion keep their unbeaten record against Boldon, now eight games since they joined the Northern League, and move up past Chester-le-Street and Esh Winning into 4th place with the win.

FT RACA 1 BOLDON CA 0 Attendance 220

RACA- Colquhoun, Skivington (Lynch 55), Ledger, Page (Hoggins 84), Caygill, Oldfield, McLeod, Grieveson, Calvert (Cairns 90), Dart (Groves-Forbes 79), Hayton (Burrell 62)

On Saturday Albion host Boldon CA at the Oldhaulage Stadium hoping to build on the win at Moor Park and end the run of 1-1 draws at HQ. At first glance it doesn’t look the hardest of games with the South Tynesiders sitting in 18th place & having lost 0-7 to RACA at the Villa earlier in the season, but Boldon are having a major upturn in form having won their last six games on the road in league and cup. Since losing against the University along the road in November, they went back to Essity Park to beat Prudhoe 3-1, won at Washington 1-0, at Esh Winning 3-1, beat first division Seaham Red Star in the League Cup, won 2-1 at Alnwick then on Wednesday beat Thornaby 2-0 in the E Armstrong Cup at Teesdale Park so they are not to be underestimated. RACA, while faltering a little of late have still only once in the last nine games, so it’s a clash of two teams in reasonable enough form. While RACA have drawn the last three at home, Boldon haven’t drawn since September, a run of 24 games, so something has to give, but hopefully not the run of 128 competitive RACA matches without a 0-0.

Kick off is the usual 3pm, hope to see a few of you there to cheer on the boys in black and blue, HOWAY THE RACA!

CHESTER LE STREET TOWN 0 RACA 2

Albion completed the double over the Cestrians for the first time since 2008-09 winning 2-0 at Moor Park in a game between two out of form sides. Glenn Caygill and Matty Hayton scored in the first half, with Ryton having been much the better side in the opening 45 minutes. The second half saw the hosts come into it more but in reality it was a poor spectacle littered with fouls and stoppages but most importantly RACA came away with the three points.

RACA- Colquhoun, Skivington, Ledger, Page (Harrison 81), Oldfield, Caygill, Dart (Fletcher 87), Grieveson, Hayton (Hoggins 71), Groves-Forbes (Baxter 46), McLeod (Lawson 78)

MATCH SUMMARY

 Albion travelled to Moor Park hoping to add to Chester-le-Street’s current woes, not having won in their last eight games. Missing top scorer Louis Calvert through illness RACA welcome back Matty Harrison on the subs bench as emergency cover. In spring-like conditions the visitors settled into the game better, Morgan Dart stabbing a ball narrowly wide n the 7^th minute in the games’ first half chance. The same player had Town keeper Alex Lawrence scrambling across his line two minutes later as his cross swung dangerously near to the top corner of the Cestrians’ net. RACA’s pressure paid off on 17 minutes when Josh Skivington’s diligence paid off as he found a gap in the Chester defence to find Joe Groves-Forbes whose cross was fumbled by Lawrence, the ball landing to Glenn Caygill who headed home from close range. Matty Hayton tried to double Albion’s lead on 24 minutes with a shot from outside the box that Lawrence was pleased to see go narrowly wide of his crossbar. Town’s first chance came on 29 minutes when Bailey Judson jinxed his way in to Ryton box and delivered a fine cross to Michael Gray who managed to fire wide from almost point blank range. Thereafter it was Albion on the prowl for a second goal, Cayhill with another powerful header in the 34^th minute from a Rhys McLeod free kick, this time over the bar, then McLeod on 39 minutes launched a screamer that was also only inches over the Cestrian bar. Just as many of the 112 spectators were heading for half time refreshments, a fine team goal had RACA 2-0 up. Charlie Grieveson dispossessed a Chester defender & found Luke Page who played the ball wide to Dart whose cross was headed on by Page for Hayton to volley into the net, Albion had a comfortable half time lead

HT Chester le Street Town 0 RACA 2

If Ryton thought they’d dominate the second half as much as they did the first half, they were to be disappointed although the early omens looked good when McLeod brought a good save out of Lawrence just two minutes after the break. The game became very even but very bitty as referee Mr Groves was forced to exercise his whistle due to the amount of niggly fouls. The hosts still weren’t offering a great deal up front, a move on 63 minutes where Kieran Hall headed a Kieron Beattie cross two yards wide about the most potent offering until Noah Cunningham’s header from a Hall head-on in the 74^th minute brough a fine diving save out of Brogan Colquhoun. Chester’s last chance of a consolation came on 90 minutes when once again the Ryton keeper had to push a powerful shot away, this time from Joel Pearson. Meanwhile RACA offered little up front in the second half, instead constantly being thwarted by the linesman’s flag, but nevertheless, held on to take the three points, end the mini winless run and keep slap bang in the hunt for a play-off place.

FT CHESTER LE STREET TOWN 0 RACA 2 Attendance 118

Albion make the trip to Moor Park to face old foes Chester-le-Street Town with both sides really needing the tonic of a win. While RACA have gone four games without a win, the Cestrians are in an alarming run of form having not won since before Christmas and since then picking up just two points from the twenty one available, though in their last game did get a creditable 2-2 draw at Billingham Town. While Town look too far off the pace to make the play-offs, Ryton need to get the promotion push back on track though it’s been helpful that the other play off hopefuls for the last two spots are also floundering. Jack Errington got the only goal of the game when the sides met at the Oldhaulage Stadium earlier in the season & a repeat result at Chester Moor would do nicely. If you’re heading down to cheer on the lads the full address of the Cestrians is Moor Park, Chester Moor, Chester-le-Street DH2 3BX. Howay The RACA!!

RACA 1  ESH WINNING 1

For the third successive home game, Albion let a 1-0 lead slip & had to settle for a point with another 1-1 draw. Tonight, Louis Calvert’s 22nd minute goal had the hosts a goal up at the interval having also spurned several chances, but the Stags came out much stronger in the second half & Cobi Jones got a deserved equaliser on 65 minutes to share the spoils.

MATCH SUMMARY

Ryton welcomed regular opponents Esh Winning to the Oldhaulage Stadium for this the 40^th meeting between the sides, both with play-off ambitions but both with jittery form in recent games. It was the Stags who created the first meaningful chance in the 7^th minute when the ball was lumped forward to Kobi Jones who ran between two defenders but couldn’t get a clean contact on the ball which trundled just wide of Brogan Colquhoun’s right hand post. Colquhoun was called into action four minutes later when Joe Bates found a stray ball landing next to him & his reflex shot had the Ryton stopper smothering the ball on the ground. Louis Calvert had Albion’s first goalbound attempt on 13 minutes but he fired narrowly wide from distance & was similarly close on the quarter hour mark, spinning round to connect with a knock on in the box to put it just wide of Harry Alderson’s left hand upright. Matty Hayton was next to test Alderson, latching on to a blocked 17^th minute clearance but the Esh keeper dived down low to block the shot. The Stags’ resistance was breached in the 22^nd minute when Mogan Dart played a great ball forward for Calvert to run on to & he notched his 20^th goal of the season, running past a ponderous Esh defence to fire high into Alderson’s net. 1-0 should have been 2-0 a minute later when the visitors were carved open again, Hayton ending up in a one on one with the keeper, but Alderson was able to push the ball from the RACA man’s control as he tried to round him. Esh were looking vulnerable at the back & another break on 24 minutes saw Hayton burst free again & instead of shooting, he unselfishly squared it to the unmarked Calvert but the ball was just behind the scorer and the chance was lost. Albion were in full attack mode & only an brilliant acrobatic save from Alderson on the half hour prevented Calvert from scoring his second of the game, powerfully heading a Dart cross before being foiled by the Esh goalie. The chances kept coming for Ryton, Joe Groves-Forbes heading over a Fergus Lynch cross on 34 minutes, but in the 45^th minute it was the visitors who created the last chance of the half, Tom Merryweather finding himself in space and with enough time to steady himself before unleashing a shot which Colquhoun could only parry into a crowd of players but the ball was cleared to safety & the Albion goal stayed intact.

HT RACA 1  Esh Winning 0

The visitors started the second half brightly, Joe Bates coming close to a 47^th minute equaliser, heading a Reece Brown shot towards the goal which Colquhoun had to tip over the bar, then Sam Haynes found himself in space with the ball in the 50th minute but chose accuracy over power, giving Colquhoun time to dive low and stop his shot. It was end to end stuff but Esh were looking the more dangerous, Brown bringing another save out of Colquhoun in the 57^th minute. It came as no surprise when the Stags scored a leveller on 63 minutes, Bates floating over a pinpoint cross for Cobi Jones to head home to make it 1-1 to the groans of most of the 175 crowd who were witnessing yielding a lead for the third consecutive home game. Esh Winning’s defensive frailties re-appeared in the 67^th minute when a routine ball wasn’t dealt with, Hayton nipping in to nick the ball but he was crowded out by a combination of Andy Taylor’s fine defensive tackle and the advancing Alderson before he could unleash his shot. At the other end Merryweather pumped forward a fine cross which evaded the RACA rearguard, dipping at the far post where Bates had advanced to, but the ball was a fraction in front of the Stags number 9 and the 70^th minute chance went begging. Alderson was in the thick of things on 72 minutes when Albion substitute Rhys McLeod powered a shot that look destined for the top corner of the net before the keeper tipped the ball out for a corner. The match’s most controversial incident occurred on 82 minutes when Calvert was fouled more than once on a run towards goal, finally being chopped down by Taylor what looked a good three feet inside the box, but the referee only awarded a free kick from just outside the box much to the derision of the home fans in line with the edge of the penalty area. Esh’s own yellow wall did their job from the free kick & that was it for drama save for the floodlights going off in stoppage time but the referee was set to blow for full time anyway so after a minute’s wait he called time on this game in the darkness. So a point that Esh would be happier with, though both sides received a small boost when the news that Thornaby had lost at home to West End, though the current form of both sides will be giving concern in both camps. That said, the point does move Albion up a place into 6^th.

FT RACA 1  ESH WINNING 1

RACA- Colquhoun, Skivington, Ledger, Page, Oldfield, Caygill, Dart (Hoggins 76), Lynch (Fletcher 48), Calvert, Groves-Forbes (McLeod 46), Hayton (Baxter 78)

Albion’s next game is an important home one against fellow promotion hopefuls Esh Winning on Wednesday night. The Stags are sitting in fourth place with games in hand but are going through a lean time having lost their last three games, allowing the chasing pack of RACA, Chester-le-Street United and Thornaby to close up on them. RACA have won the last five encounters with Esh including a 1-0 at West Terrace in early August in this season’s reverse fixture, Matty Harrison’s goal the difference in the sides. On the flip side we have dropped points from winning positions in our last two games at the Oldhaulage Stadium, against Alnwick and Darlington Town, so need to get back to winning ways having not won in our last three games. Kick off on Wednesday is at 7:30pm, hope you can make it. Howay the RACA!

For the second consecutive home game Albion have let a 1-0 lead slip & had to settle for a share of the points, this time it was Darlington Town who did the damage, cancelling out Luke Page’s first half opener with a 51st minute James Beauchamp leveller to take a point back down the A68. However other results went our way in the chase for play-off places so the afternoon could have been a lot worse.

MATCH SUMMARY

Ryton & Darlington locked horns for the third time this season on a murky day & a heavy pitch at the Oldhaulage Stadium. Chances were at a premium in the early stages, the first falling to Matty Hayton for the hosts on 13 minutes whose shot was well blocked by Ryan Coles, but from the resultant corner Luke Page bullet headed home from Fergus Lynch’s cross to open his account for the club. There was plenty of end to end play but both defences were on top although on 26 minutes, Lynch’s 25 yard shot wasn’t too far above Philip Pentony’s bar, & Town were relieved to see Lynch’s 33^rd minute free kick scrambled to safety after the ball bobbled around the crowded Darlington box. In Albion’s best period of the game it was Lynch again in the thick of thing a minute later, beating his marker before firing across the goal but just going wide of the far post. A minute after that Louis Calvert had his initial shot blocked by Town defender Cameron Holiday but his attempt from the rebound wasn’t far over the visitors’ goal. The half finished without further significant goalmouth action, and at this stage things were looking comfortable for RACA as Town struggled to make any threat into the hosts’ goal.

HT RACA 1 Darlington Town 0

 Darlington in their fetching mauve and yellow change kit came out a much different side to their first half selves, Brennan Fitzpatrick fining a shot not far wide in the 49^th minute, & it was Fitzpatrick who was instrumental for Town’s equaliser on 51 minutes, looping the ball to James Beauchamp who controlled it well before firing the ball home past Brogan Colquhoun to make it 1-1. Ryton’s first chance of note after the interval was Morgan Dart’s 61^st goalbound shot defected narrowly wide, while Hayton’s cross-come-shot three minutes later bounced off the top of the Darlington bar. RACA were back on the ascendency & on 69 minutes Hayton put in a cross from the left which Calvert just couldn’t make contact with from a yard out, else it would have been a certain goal with his marker left & Pentony at the nearside of his goal. A minute later Joe Groves-Forbes brought a comfortable save out of Pentony, while on 72 minutes, George Pinder forced Colquhoun into a tougher save having been set up by Beauchamp. RACA substitute Michael Baxter was next to chance his arm on 83 minutes having been set up by Hayton. He turned his marker but his shot from inside the box was blasted way too high. Albion kept on pressing for a much needed three points, Calvert on 85 minutes bringing a save out of Pentony having done well to get his shot on target from an acute angle & with the attentions of defender Coles to deal with too. Hayton brought another low save out of Pentony on 88 minutes, but in stoppage time Hayton thought he’d grabbed the winner with a great lob over Pentony but the keeper was just able to tip the ball over the bar & Town were able to hang on to their point.

 Two points dropped at home but with Esh Winning & Chester-le-Street United both losing it may not be such a bad result after all.

FT RACA 1 DARLINGTON TOWN 1

RACA- Colquhoun, Skivington, Oldfield, Page, Caygill, Errington, Dart (McLeod 74), Lynch, Calvert, Groves-Forbes (Baxter 78), Hayton