FT BILLINGHAM SYNTHONIA 1 RACA 3 Attendance 76
A Louis Anderson brace helped Albion claim a second win on the road in five days, this despite an early setback of a Freddie McBride goal for the hosts. Anderson levelled on 40 minutes & Synners McBride scored in the wrong goal just into the second half. The rest of the key action was deep in stoppage time as Billingham keeper Will Lawrence was red carded for handball, & Anderson scored his second and Ryton’s third goal to secure the points.
MATCH SUMMARY
It was another jaunt down the A19 to face strugglers Billingham Synthonia at Stockton Town’s Bishopton Road stadium with Albion hoping to rack up two away wins in five days. With Scott Oldfield and Danny Driver the only changes to the starting XI at Alnwick with Morgan Dart & Fergus Lynch replaced, Nathan Beesley was moved to a more midfield role and it was he who brought out the first save from Billingham keeper Will Lawrence in the 10th minute, shooting from an acute angle having been set up by Louis Anderson. But it was Synners who got the opening goal from a 12th minute Jacob Owen corner which was flicked on by Harry Healy to Freddie McBride who fired home from close range. McBride was instrumental in Synthonia’s next change of note when his long throw in was hacked away by the Ryton defence, but only to Sam Irvine whose low drilled shot was defected over the top of the bar by Danny Driver. Irvine had a chance to double the advantage on 39 minutes when he broke forward, evading tackles from Albion defenders & with just Callum Corkhill to beat, drilled in a low shot that the keeper stopped by extending a leg and the danger was averted. However RACA were to draw level; in the 42nd minute when Louis Anderson won possession in the Synners’ half, he found Beesley out wide on the right & his cross found Anderson who’d sped into the Billingham box, & while his initial flick was well saved by Lawrence, the keeper could do nothing about the second attempt from the parry that Anderson scored despite being on his way down to falling on the turf.
HT Billingham Synthonia 1 RACA 1
Albion had a great start to the second half when Synners’ McBride turned from hero to villain when he hooked a Beesley cross past Lawrence and into his own net. Irvine wasn’t too far off scoring a leveller on 52 minutes when he drilled a ball across the front of the box, but it went just the wrong side of the far post. Billingham’s poor finishing was to cost them again on 61 minutes when Daniel Dryden found Healy in acres of space on the left & he cut in & despite not being under much pressure, skied his effort with just Corkhill to beat. Ryton might have wrapped things up on 88 minutes when Danny Driver headed a Harrison Borley corner goalwards, but Lawrence pulled off a decent save to keep Billingham in the game. But deep into stoppage time, Lawrence got himself sent off when handling the ball ten yards outside the box when trying to beat Ryton’s Oliver Emmerson to the ball as the hosts had committed players forward in search of the equaliser. Jacob Owen took over goalkeeping duties for the final seconds but found himself watching the ball ripple the back of his net as Albion took instant advantage of the numerical advantage, Anderson firing home from just inside the box though there may have been a slight deflection from defender Alfie Owen. Either way that sealed the deal for RACA who also complete the double over Synthonia this season and keep the play-off hopes alive.
FT BILLINGHAM SYNTHONIA 1 RACA 3
RACA– Corkhill, Driver, Oldfield, Skivington (Borley 86), Caygill (Groves-Forbes 67), Hayton, Lawson, Beesley, Anderson (Emmerson 88), Fletcher, Calvert (Johnston).
Saturday’s Other Division 2 Results
AFC Newbiggin 2 (Middleton, Nelson) Yarm & Eaglescliffe 2 (Larkin, Jones)
Boldon CA 1 (Grant) Sunderland West End 2 (Ajavon, Hunter)
Esh Winning 2 (Swift, Ray-Tharpe) FC Hartlepool 1 (Gavin)
Grangetown BC 1 (Martin) Darlington Town 0
Newcastle University 0 Jarrow 1 (Bissett)
Park View 2 (Siyanbola 2) Durham United 1 (Boothroyd)
Seaham Red Star 2 (Grey, Anderson) Billingham Town 0
Sunderland RCA 1 (Nicholas) Redcar Town 2 (Porritt, Bruton)