Albion’s unusually poor form against their Tyne Valley neighbours continued with a 0-2 defeat at home to Newcastle University. A 13th minute Ryan Redford penalty & a 33rd minute Jacob Milner goal was the difference in the sides as RACA went down to a fourth successive defeat.
Match Summary
Newcastle University made the short trip to Albion hoping to extend their winning sequence over RACA to four games & in doing so inflict a fourth straight defeat in league and cup on Nathan Beckham’s out of form troops. They got a good chance to take the lead on 9 minutes when Jacob Milner was fouled on the edge of the RACA box but Ryan Redford’s free kick while going under the flimsy wall was an easy gather for keeper Brogan Colquhoun. Milner was again a key figure in the 13th minute when what looked a good tackle in the box on the University number 11 by Joe Groves-Forbes was deemed a foul by the referee Mr Tones & a penalty was awarded. Redford took the spot kick & while Colquhoun got a hand to the ball, the power took it into the back of the net. Albion’s first half chance came on 23 minutes when a mis-kicked clearance was seized upon by Matty Hayton but his weak effort from inside the box trundled wide. Albion had hopes for a penalty of their own on 28 minutes when there were strong claims that Scott Oldfield was pushed as he tried to latch on to a cross but after consulting with his linesman the referee declined to award anything. Hayton did test Uni keeper Leo Anderson a minute later with a powerful shot from the left flank that was palmed out for a corner which unfortunately for Albion came to nothing. Hayton was in the thick of things again on the half hour mark when Morgan Dart drilled the ball across the box from the left corner which landed at the feet of Hayton who looked sure to score with a tap-in but he got his legs in a tangle & by the time he sorted them out, there was a sea of red shirted defenders on hand to block his effort. Ryton were to rue that miss as they fell 0-2 down on 31 minutes when the Students broke quickly and a move involving Dominic Griffin, Joel Manning and Jacob Milnerhad the RACA defence back-pedalling & Milner had the simple task of slotting home past the exposed Colquhoun to give them a comfortable half time lead.
HT RACA 0 Newcastle University 2
If the first half was short of meaningful chances, the second was a positive desert with defences clearly on top. Ryton were having the bulk of the possession but it took until midway into the second half for a decent scoring opportunity, Glenn Caygill getting his head onto a corner, but he headed the ball down into the turf, losing its power & it ended up as an easy gather for Anderson. Colquhoun wasn’t called into action until the 83rd minute when a move involving Theo Wong & Luca Cassidy saw the latter’s shot from an awkward angle blocked by the Albion custodian. In fairness there was little else to report so the game went the way of recent form between the two with another University victory.
FT RACA 0 NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY 2 Attendance 195
RACA- Colquhoun, Groves-Forbes, Ledger, Lynch, Caygill (Cairns 88), Oldfield, Dart (Lawson 75), Craggs (Harrison 55), Hayton (Adotey 85), McLeod (Armstrong 82), Todd
ENL Pos: 6th.