RACA added more pressure on basement club Washington with a comfortable 5-0 win under the lights at the Northern Area Playing Fields. Three goals in five minutes midway through the first half did it for Albion plus two penalties converted by Louis Calvert made absolutely certain of the three points that move us back into a play off berth, for a few hours at least.

MATCH SUMMARY

The Northern League fixture computer threw up four consecutive games against the bottom four sides in Division Two, theoretically giving RACA a chance to get their season back on course & closing on the leading pack again. While Grangetown were duly despatched 4-1, the weather claimed the Sunderland RCA and Boldon fixtures making claiming all three points at Washington all the more important.

So on a heavy pitch under the lights Albion set out to do the double over The Mechanics & should have taken the lead on 10 minutes when a ball was fired upfield to Louis Calvert who had the pace to leave his markers behind but was thwarted by Washington keeper Andrew Coulson who advanced to narrow the angle and Calvert could only shoot straight at the stopper. Despite creating a few chances, RACA had to wait until the 20^th minute to break the deadlock, Matty Hayton tapping home a Joe Groves-Forbes pass from the left flank, a goal which heralded an amazing 5 minutes for the Tyne Valley outfit. Two minutes later & it was 2-0 to RACA when this time on the right wing, Groves-Forbes was the creator, beating four Washington defenders before crossing into the box where Fergus Lynch was on hand to slot home. 2-0 became 3-0 on 24 minutes when Rhys McLeod’s free kick into the Mechanics’ box wasn’t properly dealt with by Washington’s rearguard & the ball fell to Glenn Caygill who after a few ricochets around the six yard area, blasted into the net from close range to all but put the game beyond the hosts. Washington steadied the ship after that blitzkrieg without ever threatening Brogan Colquhoun in the Ryton goal but wouldn’t quite see out the first half without conceding a fourth goal as in stoppage time the Mechanics’ number 3, MacKenzie Stores, was deemed to have pulled back Calvert in the box and the referee awarded a penalty. Calvert stepped up to take the spot kick a sent Coulson the wrong way to make it 4-0

HT Washington 0 RACA 4

The second half wasn’t to be as eventful as the first although Caygill brought a save out of Coulson, heading a Ryton corner goalbound in the 51^st minute. There was to be a second penalty for Albion though, this time Joe Bengochea was the offender, bringing Calvert down in the box. This time Coulson guessed right but couldn’t prevent Calvert from scoring his second and RACA’s fifth of the evening. Ryton pushed on for a 6^th goal, another Caygill header on 63 minutes had Coulson diving low to push the ball out for a corner, while Matty Todd shot narrowly wide on 77 minutes, but that was it for meaningful chances & the game drifted to a relatively quiet end. Albion move up one place to 5^th and back into the last play off spot with back to back victories while Washington continue to be cut further adrift from the other strugglers in Division 2. Albion have the Indian sign over the Mechanics in recent years with this being the 10th successive win over the Wearsiders.

FT WASHINGTON 0 RACA 5 Attendance 93

RACA- Colquhoun, Groves-Forbes, Ledger (Tait 53), Grievson, Caygill, Oldfield, Dart, Lynch (Lawson 56), Calvert, McLeod, Hayton (Todd 59)

Albion’s next game is on Friday night when we make the trip to the Northern Area Playing Fields to face Washington. The Mechanics are currently propping up the second division with just seven points from their 21 league games played to date & are eight points behind second bottom Grangetown so will be keen to take something from the game. RACA and Washington have already met in the league this season, back in August when we ran out 3-0 winners at home, Abu Salim (2) and Louis Calvert scoring for us while Washy missed a penalty that evening. Washington have lost their last three but before that run of defeats pulled out a cracking result, beating Bedlington Terriers 4-0 at home to claim their to date only points at the Northern Area Playing Fields in 2024/25.

After last Saturday’s fixture wipe out it would be good to get this game on & if you want to head down to cheer on the Albion (kick off 7:45pm) , the address is – Northern Area Playing Fields, Off Stephenson Road, Washington, Tyne and Wear NE37 3HR. Howay the RACA!!

This month’s lucky winners are-

1st prize No 3 D Lamb who wins £100

2nd Prize No 67 R Fox who wins £75

3rd Prize No 46 D J Cook 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. Thank-you

Today’s Ebac Northern League Division Two match against Boldon at the Oldhaulage Stadium has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch and the strong winds from Storm Darragh.

A new date for the fixture will be announced in due course.

UPDATE (08-12-2024): The match has now been rescheduled for Saturday 1st March, 2025.

As the mad run of home games continues, (this will be our 11th home match in the last 13 games!) we welcome Boldon CA to the Oldhaulage Stadium. The South Tyneside head west in a bit of a slump in form having lost seven out of their last eight league & cup games, but the game they didn’t lose in that sequence was a 5-1 thumping of Bedlington Terriers at the Dr Pitt. Boldon sit in 19th place in the table tonight, their latest defeat being a bitter one losing 0-2 to derby rivals Jarrow in midweek with former CA hotshot Levi Collins scoring Jarrow’s second goal to rub salt in the wounds.

In the reverse fixture in early September, RACA ran out 7-0 victors at the Villa, with five different scorers for Albion- Daniel Craggs, Louis Calvert (2), Abu Salim (2), Matty Todd and Rhys McLeod all on target that day. Something similar tomorrow would do nicely so we can keep in sight of the play off places. Kick off is at 3pm & hope to see a few RACA fans there, though it’s forecast to be wrap up warm time. Howay the RACA!!

Calling all budding hacks- RACA are after a match reporter to write up the match reports & with today’s technology you don’t even have to attend the games as the full Veo match recording will be sent to you so you can re-watch incidents over & over again to get the full facts.

Anyone interested or requiring further information, please contact the club on [email protected] or [email protected]

Thank-you

RACA were put out of the Brooks Mileson Memorial League Cup by 1st Division Kendal Town at the Oldhaulage Stadium. Trailing 0-1 at the interval, the visitors went 2-0 up on 49 minutes only for Rhys McLeod to haul Ryton back into the game on 51 minutes with his 5th goal of the season. However Kendal wrapped up the tie on 82 minutes when they scored their third goal of the game.

MATCH SUMMARY

Kendal nearly marked their first visit to RACA with a goal inside the first minute, Matt Flynn just putting his shot from a cross into a crowded box just over the bar. In a half where serious chances were at a premium, the visitors took the lead on 16 minutes when a Ryan Winder free kick was knocked back to Matt Dudley who headed past the despairing dive of Brogan Colquhoun in the Ryton goal to put his side 1-0 up. The nearest Albion came to scoring in the first half was almost straight after the Town goal, Matty Todd on a rare start sped down the left flank & cut in leaving his markers in his wake, but could only fire into the side netting

HT RACA 0 Kendal Town 1

Kendal didn’t take long to double their lead when in the 49^th minute a Ryan Winder cross found the head of Thomas Kilifin who headed home from close range. To Albion’s credit they hauled themselves back into the cup tie just two minutes later, Joe Groves-Forbes’ accurate pass between two Town defenders reached Rhys McLeod who shrugged off the attentions of another defender to fire past the advancing Chris Cheetham to make it 1-2. The Mintcakes probably should have put the tie beyond RACA on 65 minutes when a slick 5 man move culminated in the unmarked Josh Winder receiving the ball at the edge of the box, but his shot, while having enough venom in it, was straight at Colquhoun who blocked the effort. There was real drama at the other end in the 69^th minute when many in the ground thought Albion had levelled things up. Matty Hayton on as a sub laid the ball to Morgan Dart whose shot struck the underside of the bar then rattled against the post & out to Hayton whose shot was blocked. The 78^th minute saw Kilifan denied a second goal for Kendal, his shot charged down by a joint effort from Colquhoun and Dale Burrell as Ryton hung on in this cup tie. But Kilifan was to get his second & Kendal’s third to ensure passage to round two on 82 minutes picking up a loose ball from a tackle to slot past Colquhoun and Albion bowed out of the League Cup at the first hurdle.

FT RACA 1  KENDAL TOWN 3 Attendance 115

RACA- Colquhoun, Skivington, Dart, Grieveson, Caygill, Oldfield, Todd (Salim 35), Burrell, Calvert (Hayton 62), McLeod, Groves-Forbes (Tait 56).

Albion welcome new visitors to the Oldhaulage Stadium for the second time in three days as First Division Kendal Town come to the Tyne Valley for the first time following Grangetown’s debut in NE40 on Saturday.

This Brooks Mileson Memorial League Cup game is being played on Tuesday instead of our usual Wednesday night slot as Newcastle host Liverpool then and they wouldn’t change dates & also the kick off is slightly later at 7:45pm to give ‘The Mintcakes’ a bit extra time to head over from Westmorland. This will be our first League Cup game for a few seasons with the competition being a victim of COVID and then being shelved due to a backlog of league fixtures so it’s especially nice to play opposition for the first time too. Kendal sit in 10th place in the first division with significantly better home form than on the road, but come into tomorrow night’s tie buoyed by a 4-0 win over Birtley at the Westmoreland Flooring Stadium. Hope a good few RACA fans can attend this tie as the black & blue finally got back to winning ways on Saturday. Howay the RACA!

RACA were back to their old self again beating Grangetown Boys Club 4-1 at the Oldhaulage Stadium this afternoon. The goals were shared around with Glenn Caygill, Louis Calvert, Dale Burrell and Matty Hayton all on target for Albion with Tyler Rowden scoring for the Teessiders.

MATCH SUMMARY

Albion stated the game brightly enough and a Rhys McLeod corner in the 6^th minute called Grangetown keeper Chris Elliot into early action having to scoop the ball away from danger only for the ball to end up at McLeod’s feet again & he curled a shot narrowly wide of the post. The reprieve was short lived however as from another corner just seconds later, Matty Hayton headed goalwards but his effort was blocked, the ball falling to Glenn Caygill who spun round and fired home to score RACA’s first league goal since October. The visitors managed to restore parity on 13minutes from an unexpected source when player manager Curtis Collantine took a throw in which Albion keeper Brogan Colquhoun looked to have intercepted & gathered safely. However Colquhoun uncharacteristically spilt the ball and Tyler Rowden was on hand to slot the ball home to make it 1-1. The remainder of the first half was a fairly even affair with neither keeper called into serious action & the sides went into the interval all square.

HT RACA 1 Grangetown Boys Club 1

 Albion almost restored their lead in the 49^th minute when Hayton set up Fergus Lynch whose shot looked bound for the top corner of the ‘Boysie’ net, but Elliot pulled of a fine acrobatic save to push the ball out for a corner. From the resultant corner, Ryton did get their noses in front again when Hayton’s shot bounced off two defenders’ legs & Louis Calvert was able to stab the loose ball home from close range. Just three minutes later Calvert had the opportunity to put daylight between the sides when he was adjudged to have been fouled by Grangetown’s Ben Bielby in the box & a penalty was awarded. Calvert opted to take the spot kick, however his weak strike was comfortably saved by Elliot who guessed rightly. Albion’s third goal on 56 minutes again came as a result of a corner. Hayton headed the ball on to the Grangetown bar, it rebounding nicely to Dale Burrell who side-footed home from close range to make it 3-1. The visitors did come close to pulling a goal back on 83 minutes when a Bielby free kick on the left wing curled into the box evading everyone save for a Ryton toe that nicked the ball out for a corner. It took until stoppage time for RACA to completely rubber stamp the win with a fine move finishing with a cross from Ben Tait, making his seasonal debut, landing at the feet of Hayton who nonchalantly tapped home to make it 4-1 and arrest the recent run of defeats.

FT RACA 4 GRANGETOWN BOYS CLUB 1 Attendance 220

RACA- Colquhoun, Skivington (Groves-Forbes 66), Ledger (Salim 63), Lynch, Caygill, Oldfield, Dart, Burrell, Calvert (Tait 75), McLeod (Lawson 70), Hayton.

Albion’s next scheduled game is a home game against struggling Grangetown Boys Club on Saturday afternoon. New Grangetown manager Curtis Collantine brings his troops north hoping to avenge the 2-1 RACA win on Teesside back in August, Dale Burrell and Abu Salim the men on target for the Albion that evening. Grangetown are on a run of eight successive defeats that has seen then drop to 21st place in Division Two, just one place above basement club Washington & are facing a RACA side on a run of five straight losses themselves, so something has to give!

The club are delighted to see Richie Hoggins signed on again after his enforced absence & also welcome back local lad Ben Tait as well as Jack Pickering who made one appearance for us last season.

Kick off on Saturday at the Oldhaulage Stadium is 3pm, hope you can get along to ideally see the black & blue get back to winning form again. Howay RACA!!