Saturday, 02 April 2011

STL Northern League Division 1

Meadow Park trebled its usual number of photographers at the Spennymoor match on Saturday. The Sunderland Echo were there, so watch out for a team and perhaps some action shots in the paper this week.

We also welcomed guest photographer Ron Aitchison who has kindly given us a link to the photos he took. Click here to see a slide show of Ron's photos.

Finally, please click here to see a slide show of photos of the match from the usual photographer.

RCA welcomed League leaders Spennymoor Town to Meadow Park and although giving a good account of themselves they fell victim to two strikes either side of half time. Once again, through injury and suspensions there were changes to the team, manager Hixon opting for a 4-5-1 formation brought in Butler, Graydon, Carling and Shields as both Logan and Toft were sidelined through injury. To make matters worse Moors were able to recall keeper Turns and striker Johnston for the game.

RCA, facing the wind and the slope, started brightly and were on top in the early exchanges forcing, Spennymoor to defend deep. A snap shot from home debutant Tymon flashed narrowly past Turns' goal in the eighth minute and the reaction from Moors was almost instant with Capper cutting in from the left to unleash a shot which went wide.

Turns was then called upon to save low down after a shot from Walton was deflected goalwards by Ryan. RCA were keeping possession well and should have opened th escoring in the 14th minute when Tymon out jumped the Moors defence to flick a header into the path of Richards who found Walton with a sublime pass which sliced apart the Moors defence, but Walton's curling shot went narrowly wide with Turns beaten.

RCA looked in control at this point and a good move between Richards and Tymon created a chance for Carling in front of goal, but he was guilty of slashing at the shot and it flew wide.

The game threatened to boil over as a number of challenges started to fly in with firstly Oates and Francis clashing and then Francis seemed to take retribution on RCA captain Beasley after a number of challenges had been allowed to go unchecked.

Spennymoor took the lead when Francis crossed in from the right, straight across the face of goal and the ball fell between the defender and Hoggeth and Laws nipped in between the two to blast home from close range.

Francis took the game by the scruff of the neck and his passing and control were mesmerising, he broke from midfield into the box and laid the ball into the path of Johnston but the striker scuffed his shot wide of the post from 12 yards.

RCA came back a Moors before half time and Matty Tymon, almost levelled when he fired wide after good work down the right by Michael Dalton. then Leon Carling headed wide from a corner by Keith Graydon.

At the start of the second half RCA were penned back as Moors went looking for the goal that would kill the game. Cogdon out on the left twice went close and Johnston had a great chance, but fired wide.
When Cogdon went down under a challenge from Hoggeth the penalty appeals were rightly turned down by the referee. at the other end Tymon fired straight at Turns when in a great position and almost immediiately Beasley did the same. The game was opening up and both teams were playing some excellent football.

The second goal for Moors came with another defence splitting pass from Francis which found Johnson on the edge of the box and he deftly flicked the ball over Hoggeth for a truely stunning goal. This took the wind out of the sails of RCA and Moors started to take control, producing some great passing football.

The final minutes saw few chances for either side.

As RCA pushed forward the Moors defenders had to dig in to preserve a clean sheet.

All in all an entertaining match and hopefully the same will be repeated as the two teams will battle it out again in the League Cup semi-final on Monday, 11 April.

Saturday, 9 April 201

STL Northern League Division 1

Click here for a slideshow of photos from the match

Sunderland RCA made the long trip to Penrith’s new Frenchfield stadium with a much depleted team. Only the bare eleven travelled with injuries and suspensions accounting for six players being unavailable and the late withdrawal of two players due to work commitments.

The players who did travel proved that, even in adversity, RCA are capable of making an impression in this league. The game itself was a bit of a non event with Penrith scoring in the 21st minute through Otway who ghosted in, unmarked, at the far post to steer the ball past Hoggeth.

Penrith looked dangerous with Douglas causing most of the problems with some foraging runs.

RCA were not without their chances and shots from Walton and Tymon tested Holand in the Penrith goal, while Hoggeth was on hand to palm away a shot from Wilson.

The best chance of the half fell to Tymon who created a great opening when sent clear by Richards, but the lone striker was guilty of looking for support when a shot at goal would have been a better option.

Penrith made it clear early in the second half that they would be happy to defend deep and hit RCA on the break. This they did to great effect and with the outlet of Douglas on the left and Jackson on the right they made life difficult for RCA’s overstretched defence.

Douglas should have made it 2-0 when he jinxed past three defenders before firing in a weak effort which Hoggeth dealt with easily.

RCA were harshly treated two minutes later when Graydon seemed to get the better of Gray and as he set himself to shoot at goal appeared to be brought down on the edge of the box, but the referee waved play on.

Within five minutes the complexion of the game changed when RCA were awarded a penalty, when after a goalmouth scramble the ball was blasted towards goal by Walton, Gray the Penrith centre back flung himself at the ball which clearly hit him on the face, but the referee indicated that it had struck his hand. In the ensuing melee between the officials and Penrith players, the home club physio was very aggressive towards Graydon. Justice seemed to be done when Tymon hit a weak penalty at Holland.

The game ended giving Penrith a much needed and probably just deserved three points. With Jarrow Roofing only managing to draw this makes RCA mathematically safe from relegation and plans have already begun for next season.

Monday, 11 April 2011

Brooks Mileson Memorial Cup Semi Final

Whoever said that football is a cruel game, was obviously refering to the irony, that no matter how hard a team try and no matter how well they play when decisions go against you they usually end up costing you games. Such cruelty was dealt out in double quantities in this Brooks Mileson League cup tie. Spennymoor rode their luck in the second half of this game and when it mattered produced the real moments of quality in the final stages.

RCA were forced once again to make significant changes to the team due to a mixture of injuries, suspensions and cup tied players. Spennymoor also made six changes to the team who won at Bedlington at the weekend, giving a debut to young keeper Samuel Grievson.

In an open first 15 minutes both teams looked to attack with Johnston for Moors going the closest with a dipping shot from 20 yards out which cleared the bar by inches. RCA responded and both Walton and Taylor could have done better with chances set up by Richards, but both fired wide of the target.

Spennymoor took the lead after 13 minutes when Richardson collected a pass from Johnston before turning quickly inside the area to fire past Hoggeth.

After this both sides were guilty of missing chances. Hubbard set up Peacock on 32 minutes, but the forward's shot was well off target and he looked to pull up sharply afterwards and was replaced.

Taylor had another good chance to equalize, but could not find the finish he was looking for and his shot went tamely over the bar.

The game continued to move from end to end with neither team testing the keepers.

The start of the second half saw Taylor burst through the Moors defence and with only the keeper to beat he got to much on the ball and scooped it over the bar.

Moors were finding it hard as RCA turned the screw with some great possession which pinned them back for long periods.

RCA equalised when a long ball from McGuinness was misjudged by Grievson and Walton steered the ball goalwards only to see Ryan clear off the line; however the clearance struck Walton on the knee and went into the empty net.

Substitute Craig Ruddy almost regained Moors lead when his 20 yard shot crashed off the woodwork, but the RCA defence dealt with follow up and cleared their lines.

RCA were creating chance after chance and had a hatful of corners, but could not seem to get past the resilient Moors' defending.

RCA were denied a penalty in the 85th minute when Dalton was fouled in the process of shooting; the referee waved away the protests. Within a minute Moors ended the home side’s hopes of a cup shock when Dalton again appeared to be fouled on the edge of the box and with the RCA player down Moors elected to play on and Richardson was able to ride the tackle of Beasley to unleash a brilliant strike into the top corner from 25 yards.

RCA were guilty of another glaring miss when Richards and Walton combined, but the final shot went over the top.

Moors booked their place in the final with a third in stoppage time when Ruddy crossed for Hubbard to score with a diving header in the 94th minute.

Good luck to Jason Ainsley, the committee and the Spennymoor team in the Final. For SRCA there is always next year.

Saturday, 16 April 2011

STL Northern League Division 1

Click here for a slideshow of photos from the match

With both teams assured of first division football next season and Ashington preparing for a cup semi final against Newcastle United Reserves, this had all the ingredients of being just another end of season, get it out of the road, match. In the first 45 minutes that is exactly how it seemed as Ashington looked a poor imitation of a footballing team and RCA lacked a quality finish. The one bright spark of the first half was Matty Tymon's first goal for the club. The second half served up four goals in an end-to-end game that RCA should have had sewn up after 50 minutes.

RCA took control of this game right from the off and only some poor finishing kept Ashington in the hunt. In the fifth minute a great cross from Shields evaded everyone to land at the feet of Walton whose shot beat Dryden, but was cleared off the line by Lough.

A good spell of play by Ashington saw Bell feed the ball to Godsmark who mishit his shot and Hoggeth saved easily.

In the 11th minute RCA took the lead when a great pass from Graydon found Tymon who took it in his stride before clipping the ball low past Dryden.

RCA should have doubled their lead two minutes later when Graydon shot from 20 yards out and the ball dipped just over the bar.

RCA were rampant now and Graydon was puuling all the strings from midfield. Another of his passes found Tymon again and although the striker's shot beat the keeper the ball was once again cleared off the line.

As the game neared the end of the half it looked to be one of those days when RCA would dominate and get nothing from it and Ashington looked woefully poor in the face of the RCA onslaught. In the final minutes of the half both Jones and Graydon were guilty of not testing the keeper when in good positions.

The first real opportunity of the second half for either team fell, against the run of play, to Godsmark for Ashington, but he fired high over the bar. Graydon, who was finding acres of space in midfield started to dominate and was really unlucky with a curling shot which had Dryden beaten, but flashed inches wide of the upright. A minute later and the same player forced a great save from Dryden who was pleased to see his parry cleared by Lough.

A promising move by Ashington saw Scott cross to the unmarked Bell, but Hoggeth easily saved the forward's header.

RCA went 2-0 up when Richards released Walton on the right and his curling cross was headed home by Tymon. The game then seemed to take off with Ashington playing some of the best football of the match and, for the first time, causing problems to the RCA defence. In the 58th minute a great passing move involving Scott Godmark and Bell saw the latter slot the ball home from eight yards out. RCA looked to be rattled by this and it was not long before the score was 2 -2 when a long ball out of defence found Godmark who passed to Bell on the right wing and his cross was met by Lough two yards out and he made no mistake from there.

Ashington looked to have gained the initiative and were pressing forward for the winner, but both Beasley and Oates were in no mood to concede further gaols.

RCA took all three points when Jones’ long ball out of defence was flicked on by Tymon into the path of Graydon who fired into the net, the ball taking a slight deflection on the way.

RCA played some good football at times in this match and thoroughly deserved the points, but they must also realise that they need to cut out the sloppiness in defence.

Saturday, 23 April 2011

STL Nothern League Division 1

The final match of the season for Sunderland RCA FC saw them paired with Stokesley FC, who were also promoted last year. Both teams can be proud that they have retained first division status for next season. RCA started the game without Joe Walton who pulled a hamstring in the warm up and his place in the team was taken by another youngster Liam Dunn.

RCA took advantage of the slope in the first half and could have been 3 - 0 up inside the first 15 minutes as Carling fired wide in the first minute, a Tymon layoff was blocked by Close before Graydon had a shot saved by Dean. It was one way traffic as a shot from Carling was saved by Dean and the rebound was fired over the bar by Richards. In the 18th minute a cross from Shields found Tymon free at the back post, but he powered his header into the side netting. Two minutes later and Tymon turned his defender, but as he started to head towards the box he was fouled by Close who, harshly in my opinion, was shown a straight red card. The game seemed to settle down and Stokesley had their first attempt at goal in the 29th minute, when Turner fired over the bar. Dunn was guillty of the miss of the half when a cross from Jones found him unmarked four yards out, but he mishit the shot and it went wide of the far post with both Tymon and Graydon bearing down on goal behind Dunn.

Stokesley immediately took advantage of this and a long ball from Dean found Wells 25 yards out from goal and he needed no second chance, blasting the ball first time past the helpless Hoggeth. Totally against the run of play Stokesley found themselves in front.

The second half opened in emphatic style with a long ball from Jones looking to be easily collected by Dean, but he spilled the ball into the path of Tymon who proceeded to fire wide from eight yards out. In the 49th minute RCA were awarded a penalty when Graydon was fouled in the box and Beasley converted past Dean.

A cross from Stewart found Decosemo who shot wide. Tymon at the other end had three chances in quick sucession, all fired straight at Dean.

A cross from Graydon was met at the far post by McGuinness and his header back into the path of Beasley was tapped into the net from two yards out to give RCA the lead. Stokesley struck back with a goal from substitute Yalcin when he converted a Stewart shot.

Both teams had chances to settle the match, but it was left to Shields to come up with the goods in the 87th minute when a long crossfield ball from Dunn found him inside the box and he cleverly chipped the ball past Dean. In the end it was a well deserved if hard fought three points. 51 points in our first season back in this division is more than anyone at the club could have hoped for.