Sunday, 29 January 2012
Sunderland Sunday Premier League
A thoroughly entertaing encounter resulted in a deserved point apiece after a final scoreline of 2-2.
RCA started the brighter and nearly made the breakthrough after ten minutes when 'Marni' Metcalfe broke onto a ball and saw his well hit drive tipped onto the bar and behind for a corner, keeper Heath doing well.
Farringdon then stepped up a notch and the game became very even, with both sides playing some neat attractive football. Farringdon though were the side to braek the deadlock when a crossfield ball to the left wing found Mark Stephenson free and he advanced into the box and shot powerfully only for keeper Stoker to spread himself and block the effort. However the ball broke straight back to Stephenson and he gleefully stroked it home to put Farringdon ahead after 25 minutes. Farringdon then had a 10 minute spell on top and Brett Gialett had two glorious opportunities to put them two up, both of them superbly stopped by Stoker in the RCA goal. They were then made to pay when a flowing move down the right flank released full back Callum Charlton into the box and he drove home under the diving Heath to draw RCA level after 35 minutes and it stayed that way till half time.
The second half continued in the same vein with both sides playing some good stuff, but it was RCA who went ahead after 65 minutes when Clayton Davis, making his first appearance of the season after a lengthy injury lay off, clipped in a delightful free kick, leaving the keeper no chance. Davis was then replaced by Crew five minutes later as he tired. RCA then should have gone further ahead when Turvey ghosted down the left and played a ball acroos the box for Richie Jordan in acres of space 10 yards out, but he dragged his effort wide of the post.
Farringdon then made their substitute with Gary Barnfather and Mark Liddle coming on and the game swung from end to end, but Farringdon equalised after 85 minutes when Surtees drilled a low cross in from the right and RCA did not deal with it. The ball ended up with Barnfather at the far post and he dispatched it clinically into the net to draw Farringdon level.
The game then took off even more with both sides looking for a winner. Farringdon had the first opportunity when they hit the post and then had the ball cleared of the line by RCA's Jimmy Dunn. RCA then probaly should have clinched the win with the last kick of the game when Willie Crew somehow dragged a shot wide in similar fashion to Jordan's earlier miss, but a winner either way would have been unfair to either side, as a draw to this great match was undoubtedly the correct result.
Congratulations to both sets of players for producing such good entertainment, played in the right spirit too.