Friday, 16 December 2011
STL Northern League Division 1
A superbly struck Stephen Flockett own goal in the 93rd minute gave RCA a share of the points on this dreadful night.
The experiment of playing on a Friday night was somewhat scuppered due to the weather conditions and it was only the dedication of a few hardy members of the management team and supporters that made the pitch playable. The 63 supporters who did brave the weather were rewarded with an exciting game which had everyone on the edge of their seats until the final whistle.
With Andrew Cuthbertson injured and Alex Benjamin somewhat surprisingly transferred to Jarrow Roofing, RCA brought in recently signed Mark McLeod and Mark Davison returned after injury to spearhead the attack.
RCA entertained Billingham Town who are languishing third off bottom in the league, but whose recent performances have given renewed hope to the faithful. A late inspection by referee Paul Brown deemed the pitch playable and the match was on.
RCA took advantage of the slope in the first half and were immediately on the attack with Owens going past the full back to deliver a cross into the box but both Jennings and Davison were unable to connect and the ball went for a goal kick. A minute later and this time it was Jennings supplying the cross and Crossman was forced to head over the bar for a corner The same player cleared the corner kick to Onions who ran unchallenged before crossing into the area but Atkinson was alert to the danger and plucked the ball out of the air with ease.
A freekick on the edge of the box was taken by Davison, but he fired straight at Briggs in the Billingham goal.
RCA almost opened the scoring in the 19th minute when a cross into the box by Owens found Davison who controlled the ball well before turning and shooting into the side netting. RCA were awarded a freekick a minute later in an identical spot from the one which Davison took earlier this one was taken by Owens who fired over.
Control of the game was firmly in RCA's hand at this point as they forced a succession of corners, the first taken by McGuinness saw Crossman defending well to head away for another corner. Again McGuinness crossed into the box and this time it took a fingertip save to force another corner. This one was taken from the other wing by Walton, but his cross into the box was cleared by Butterworth and the resulting shot from Owens went well wide.
RCA finally took the lead in the 27th minute when danger man Owens fired a low drive into the box and Jennings with the deftest of touches beat the Briggs at the near post. Two minutes later and the same combination produced a great save from Briggs. It was all RCA as they went looking for goal number two and Jennings forced another save from Briggs on the half hour.
Billingham Town having weathered the storm, or maybe come to terms with the pitch, started to assert some pressure on the RCA defence who had hitherto had very little to do. O’Brien went on a run before crossing to the far post where Onions rose above the RCA defence but headed over the bar. Two minutes later and Onions became provider as he slipped the ball into the path of Butterworth and his effort from 12 yards had Atkinson scrambling to save.
In the 40th minute Billingham were level, a freekick was floated into the six yard box by Cronesberry, Atkinson chose to punch and the ball fell to Owens whose shot was blocked by Oates, the ball fell for Onions 18 yards out and he hit an unstoppable shot into the top corner of the goal. In the last five minutes of the half Billingham took control and were unlucky when a Cronesberry freekick went narrowly wide.
Both teams looked eager to get the second half started as they both appeared after 10 minutes in the dressing room or maybe it was just that it was a bitterly cold night and they wanted the match started to try and warm up.
RCA had the first real chance of the second half as Walton raced clear from a Close pass, one on one with Briggs, Walton fired on target but the Billingham keeper managed to get a foot to the ball and steer it wide for a corner. Owens took the corner and found Davison at the back post but his header was cleared up field to Martin who held the ball up before bringing in Onions, but Paxton was alert to the danger and cleared the ball.
On the hour mark Billingham town took the lead when a cross into the box was initially cleared by Oates, who collided with Martin, with both men down inside the six yard box, the ball fell to Owens who fired the ball back into the box and it looked to come off one of the players lying on the floor before nestling in the bottom corner of the net.
Billingham looked to close the game down and kept it very tight at the back and for all their endeavour RCA could not breach the resolute Billingham defence.
In the 85th minute substitute Flockett had a great chance to put the game out of reach as he fired in a shot from the edge of the box which struck the crossbar and went over.
RCA must have thought that they had equalised in the 88th minute when Jones crossed to the far post, both Jennings and Davison went up, who ever made contact saw the ball hit the inside of the post before travelling along the goal line and Gamble cleared.
The final twist in the tail came in the third minute of injury time. Owens went to go past O’Brien inside the area, the full back made a great tackle and the ball spun to Flockett who was facing the wrong way and the Billingham substitute mishit his clearance straight into the bottom corner of his own goal.
RCA rode their luck at time tonight and in the end were rewarded for their endeavours with a draw. Billingham can take heart from this performance and kick on from here; they are a good team who maybe need a little bit of luck.