Sunderland RCA FC 7 Esh Winning FC 0

Saturday, 25 September 2010

STL Northern League Division 1

Sunderland RCA secured their first win of the season in emphatic style beating bottom club Esh Winning 7 - 0.

A Martin Smith hat-trick made sure of the three points but there were excellent displays from Coghlan and Logan and the crossed leg chip ball by Harrison Davies to set up the fourth goal for Smith was worth the admission money on its own.

RCA entertained Esh Winning in this bottom of the table clash and although still early in the season it was being billed as a six pointer.

Esh were unlucky not to take the lead in the second minute when a goal mouth scramble saw both Nixon and Ward have shots blocked by Oates.

In the fifth minute Davies crossed to the far post where Richards was on hand to fire in a shot which was blocked by Hogg, minutes later a a shot by Coghlan went narrowly wide.

Esh were awarded a freekick on the edge of the box for a foul by Beasley and although Marron lifted the ball over the wall Hoggeth made the save look easy. From his clearance the ball found Smith wide on the right and his cross come shot beat Pringle, but drifted narrowly wide of the far post with Logan only inches away from getting a touch on the ball.

RCA were starting to dominate possession with both Coghlan and Richards pressing forward at every opportunity. A Coghlan pass found Logan on the edge of the box, but his shot flew over the bar.

A cross-field ball from Beasley found Davies, who in turn fed Smith who flicked the ball up before sending in an overhead kick which shaved the crossbar.

There was no holding Davies and Smith and the two combined again in the 19th minute when Smith was unlucky with a shot on the turn which hit the side netting. Smith made no mistake a minute later when Logan won the ball on the edge of the box, passed to Davies who played the ball in to Smith who turned and fired low into the bottom corner giving Pringle no chance.

RCA went 2-0 up five minutes later when Walton popped up on the left and fired in a shot from the edge of the box which was still rising as it hit the net. Esh were reeling from these quick-fire goals and worse was to follow as Beasley powered in a header from a Davies corner to make it 3-0.

RCA maintained the pressure and when Coghlan found Logan on the right he cut inside and beat two defenders before watching his shot go agonisingly wide of the upright.

Esh made a few forays into RCA territory late in the half and Dobby had a good opportunity to score when he found himself unmarked in the box, but fired wide. RCA responded with a Richards shot which was saved by Pringle and a shot from Walton which was blocked by Wilson.

In the 45th minute came a little bit of magic that will be remembered for a long time by the RCA supporters who witnessed it. Davies receiving a pass from Coghlan, audaciously, used a cross legged chip which cleared the defenders and fell into the path of Smith who in turn volleyed past the helpless Pringle. A glorious goal to end the half on!

Parkin replaced the injured Walton at half time and was in action immediately as he burst into the box after a one two with Logan, but his shot was charged down by Clough. Esh then had their best spell of the game as the pushed men forward in an effort to break down the RCA defence. Nixon had a header which hit the post and Ward following up pounced on the rebound but his effort was cleared off the line by Beasley.

RCA had allowed Esh to over run them in the early part of this second half and a shot from Nixon went narrowly wide after some good build up play between Marron and Ward. McLeod replaced the injured Richards in an effort to stop Ward who was causing a few problems for RCA.

Wilson picked up a loose pass from midfield and charged forward beating three players before unleashing a shot which went narrowly wide.

This seemed to spur RCA back to life or maybe it was the withdrawal of the effective Ward. RCA took the game to Esh having withstood this 10 minute spell.

Davies and Duke were combing well on the left and Jones and Parkin were causing problems on the right.

Two crosses in the space of a minute had the Esh defence scrambling all over the place, but no RCA player could produce an end product.

RCA were steadily increasing the pressure and forcing Esh onto the back foot a long ball from Jones found Smith on the left wing and he passed the ball into the path of Coghlan who shot wide.

Coghlan returned the favour a minute late with a defence splitting pass which found Smith, but his shot was well saved by Pringle. Pringle found Marron with the clearance and he made a good move into the box only to be denied by a superb covering tackle from Beasley.

The running and work rate of Logan was rewarded in the 85th minute when he ran onto a ball from Coghlan before steering it past the advancing Pringle.

A minute later and Coghlan fired over the bar; Esh were completely gone now and RCA were rampant. A cross from Davies found Smith, but he headed over the bar, but within a minute he had scored to record a hat-trick.

Another superb defence splitting pass this time found Parkin and he raced clear to blast the ball past Pringle.