Albion played out another 2-0 result in a combative game against Yarm & Eaglescliffe, their fourth 2-0 in a row, but sadly were on the wrong side of the score line as two second half goals from Joe Dalton and Peter Bulmer ensured the points went back to Teesside. To add to the woes, the home side had their chances and also missed a penalty with the game at 1-0. The defeat means Ryton drop two places to 15th in the table.
MATCH SUMMARY
RACA faced a Yarm side who had lost just one of their eight league games to date & who had also despatched next Wednesday’s opponents, neighbours Newcastle University, out of the FA Vase so the Albion management team knew they were in for a tough task despite a previous 100% record against the Eagles in Crawcrook.
In autumnal conditions after some welcome rain it was Albion who almost went ahead on 8 minutes when a corner found its way to the head of captain for the night Craig Scott who headed the ball downwards, it bouncing up past the outstretched arm of Lee Roberts in the Yarm goal and bouncing off the bar. Y&E had a decent chance of their own in the 17th minute from a free kick which Harry Stewart-Titchiner launched into the RACA box, finding Daniel Jones who chested the ball to Harry Williams who struck a sweet first time volley which wasn’t too far wide of the post. The visitors felt harshly done by three minutes later when what looked like a clear handball from a Ryton defender in the box was waved away by the referee, and while they were protesting, Albion broke away smartly with Jack Elliott forcing Roberts in the Yarm goal to come wide and close him down. Elliott managed to find Declan Bisset in the box but by then the Eagles defence had piled into the six yard area, Ethan Jones looking to have been the man in yellow who blocked Bisset’s shot. RACA had a penalty claim of their own turned down on 29 minute when Louis Calvert was bundled over in the box but again the referee wasn’t interested in awarding anything. Calvert had half a chance to get on the scoreboard on 40 minutes when he cut from the right, but the angle was tight & his shot lacked the power to trouble Roberts, who made a routine save. Albion were creating chances but lacked accuracy at the crucial moments, Scott heading wide from a 37th minute corner being about the best effort as a free kick punctuated half came to a close.
HT RACA 0 Yarm & Eaglescliffe 0
The opening minutes of the second half were uneventful although on the hour mark Stewart-Titchiner almost caught out Albion keeper Callum Corkhill out with a free kick that almost sneaked in to the unguarded side of the goal, but Corkhill was able to scramble back & prevent Y&E opening the scoring. The respite was brief as on 62 minutes Yarm played out a snappy four man move from a throw in that finished with Josh Marshall laying the ball to Joe Dalton who struck the ball sweetly giving Corkhill no chance as it rippled the net. Albion were given a golden opportunity to draw level when the referee awarded the home side a spot kick in the 66th minute when Declan Bisset was brought down in the box. After much protestation from the visitors, recently introduced substitute Louis Anderson stepped up to take the spot kick but crashed his shot against the bar and the Teessiders were let off the hook. Albion plugged on in an ever increasingly niggly game & on 79 minutes Anderson played a short ball across the box & keeper and defender rather got in each others way allowing Calvert to nip in but Roberts recovered quickly to bravely dive at Calvert’s feet to snatch the ball back. Morgan Dart was next to create a chance when on 80 minutes he played a low cross from near the by-line which evaded several players from both sides before being scrambled to safety near the far post. But any chance of a comeback was snuffed out in the 89th minute when a ball forward was flicked on by Harry Williams to Marshall who had got goal side of the Ryton defence. He played the ball to Peter Bulmer who eventually knocked home his first goal of the season after evading the desperate slides of RACA defenders to wrap up the game. There was one last chance from Ryton for a consolation when Dart had a shot on goal deep into stoppage time, but while on target, it lacked the power to trouble Roberts too much & Albion were left to rue missed opportunities again.
FT RACA 0 YARM & EAGLESCLIFFE 2
RACA– Corkhill, Driver, Dart, Salkeld (Lynch 33), Dodds, Scott (Blakey 80), Luke, Elliott (Skivington 77), Calvert, Bisset (Adotey 83), Johnston (Anderson 60)
Wednesday’s Other Division 2 Results
Darlington Town 0 FC Hartlepool 1 (Burrows)
Esh Winning 2 (Bower, Cherrie) Alnwick Town 2 (Smith, o.g.)
Jarrow 2 (Beattie, Karim) Durham United 2 (Bramwell, Kay)
Prudhoe YC 2 (Lowes 2) Boldon CA 3 (Zych 2, B Robertson)