RCA defender Ross Preston clears the ball in the first half of the match.

Saturday, 1 March 2014

EBAC Northern League Division 1

Goalscorers: SRCA Hughes  Synners: Wray (og)

Please click here for photos from the match.

Please click here for the Billingham Synthonia photographer's photos.

After the disappointment of Monday at Team Northumbria the Management team made wholesale changes to the starting line up and the formation for today's match.

Playing an unfamiliar 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 whichever way you look at it this was a vastly improved performance from everyone in the squad.

Wray and Preston teamed up with Horsman in the centre of defence and the inclusion of Player/Joint Manager "Buddy" Halliday in midfireld along side Nathan Wilson and Stanger was a master stroke, as they stifled the usually inventive "Synners" midfield. Jury and Aaron Brown played as wing backs and Hughes and Barton were up front.

RCA got off to a dream start, from the kick off the ball was played to Horsman, he found Brown on the left wing, Brown slipped the ball to Wilson who played the ball to Barton who switched play to Jury on the other wing he crossed into the box where Hughes finished sublimely to give RCA the lead on 25 seconds.

Synners responded immediately, a freekick taken by Edwards was floated to the back post where Abel headed the ball back into the danger area to Sweet who could only direct his header straight at Carmichael.

A minute later Burton shot wide from 20 yards out after being played in by Osmond.

Another well taken freekick from Edwards in the 12 minute was headeed away by Preston, the loose ball was picked up by Abel but he fired wide of the target.

Synners were piling on the pressure but the RCA defence was holding firm, dealing effectively with everything that was being thrown at them.

In the 22 minute Hillaby played a one two with Hughes before striking a low shot which Carmichael was able to smother.

The RCA keeper then turned defence into attack as he kicked the ball out to Hughes who showed great pace in getting past his marker before shooting towards goal where Briggs brought off a great save.

Synners equalised in the 25 minute when Woodhouse won the ball inside his own half and sent a long ball forward, the ball fell to Sweet who set off towards goal, Wray made a great tackle but the ball was diverted the wrong side if Carmichael and into an empty net.

As the half wore on it was clear that both defences were well on top and goalmouth action was very scarce.

The second half saw Synners attacking almost constantly with RCA reduced to defending and trying to hit them on the break.

On the hour mark a corner on the right was palmed away by Carmichael under pressure and the ball fell to Hillerby who curled his shot wide of the target.

A minute later and Edwards was once again the provider of a clear chance for Synners, his freekick into the box was met by Abel but Carmichael produced a great save from the centre half's header.

RCA continued to deny Synners and were always a threat going forward especially with the pace of Hughes and the introduction of Fryatt added more pace to the attack.

In the 75th minute a great ball from Hughes to Woodhouse beat the RCA offside trap and when the ball was played into the six yard area for Sweet it looked a certain goal but the Synner's striker placed the ball inches wide of the post.

That was the last real chance of the game as both teams cancelled each other out in every department of the pitch.

Synners for all there efforts could not breach a well organised RCA team who gave nothing away cheaply. A well deserved point picked up away from home at a top ten team was the reward for a fantastic team effort.

Next up is Marske United on Tuesday night.

Strength of purpose: RCA's Phil Horsman shows the ball out for an RCA throw in.

Tuesday, 4 March 2014

EBAC Northern League Division 1

Goalscorers: SRCA: Fryatt, Barton Marske: None.

Please click here for photos from the match.

Work commitments meant that Stanger, Patton and (Andrew) Brown where unavailable for selection. Into the squad came the evergreen Wayne Henderson.

The selection of the starting eleven was further disrupted when both Nathan Wilson and Ross Wilkinson reported niggling injuries. Therefore the team reverted to the familiar 4-4-2 formation, (Aaron) Brown swapped to right back, Jury into the centre of midfield and both Baynes and Fryatt recalled as wingers.

After the excellent display in securing a point on Saturday hopes were high of adding to our points tally against a Marske United team who seem to have fallen away of late.

RCA started with their, now familiar, trademark of scoring inside the first 30 seconds of a match. From the kick off the ball was collected by Brown who slide the ball into midfield where Halliday sent a slide rule pass into the path of Fryatt who outpaced the Marske defence before rounding the keeper and slotting home 1-0 up in 23 seconds.

The lead was almost short lived as Marske moved forward and a cross into the box by Stewart was met by ex-RCA player Marshall, but he headed well over the bar from a promising position.

The next chance of the game fell to Barton, Jury won the ball in midfield and sent the ball out wide to Baynes who crossed low into the box to Barton whose shot was well blocked by Collins.

As with the match on Saturday, RCA were forced to defend in numbers as the opposition took the game to them and it took some excellent defending by Preston and Wray to keep the Marske strike force from scoring. They did so well that Carmichael was not forced to make a save in the first half hour.   

Marske were playing some good possession football without penetrating the RCA defence and for their part RCA were quick to break when the chance arose.

In the 28 minute RCA were awarded a Corner which Baynes took, picking out Barton on the penalty spot the RCA striker headed down toward goal where Hughes stabbingg the ball forward producing a great reaction save from Dean who took a knock to the head in the process.

The reaction from Marske was predictable as once again they started to play the ball about without creating a worthwhile chance although Butterworth did have a long range shot in the 42 minute which went wide of the target.

The  second half started with a flourish for RCA, Fryatt, pushed up front to replace the injured Hughes, was in the thick of the action within a minute of the restart as he ran at the Marske defence, unfortunately his final ball, meant for Barton was a little to heavy and was collected by Dean.

Two minutes later and Brown played a delightful ball forward to Baynes who played a one two with Barton inside the penalty area before striking a low drive which Dean saved supurbly.

Marske with the advantage of the slope started to make inroads into the RCA defence and a great ball in from Stewart was met by Macdonald who blazed his shot high and wide. at the other end Jury tried his luck from 25 yards out but his effort went well over the bar and a Wilson freekick was headed straight at Dean by Shields.

A mistake in the heart of the RCA defence saw a sliced clearance fall at the feet of Marshall but his shot was poor and easily dealt with by Carmichael.

In the 80th minute RCA thought that they had extended their lead when a cross into the box was headed away by O'Sullivan, the ball fell to Fryatt who set himself up before volleying the ball into the bottom corner of the net. Unfortunately the linesman ruled that Shields was in an offside position and interfering with play.

The game switched to the opposite end almost immediately when a ball into the box by Mcdonald resulted in a goal mouth scramble and the ball could have gone anywhere, as it happened Halliday took control and played out a great ball to Shields who held the ball up before playing in Brown, he returned the ball to Shields who crossed into the box where Barton made no mistake from 5 yards out.

Marske made one last effort to get back into the game but a header from Marshall and a long range effoert by Dougall didn't really threaten the RCA goal.

Another all round team performance and just rewards for the effort that they have put in. 13 points out of the last seven games is a great achievement given our predicament just before Xmas.

Some excellent performances tonight, Wray and Preston seem to be getting a great understanding at the heart of the defence and what can you say about Halliday, he is leading by example and what an example. We are also chipping in with some goals now which was a problem area before the turn of the year.

Morpeth on Saturday and I am sure that they will be trying to turn their season round. No easy games in this league.

Saturday, 8 March 2014

EBAC Northern League Division 1

Goalscorers: SRCA: None:  Morpeth: Forster (3), Wright, Swanson.

Changes were forced on the Management team for today's match at Morpeth Town, Horsman with a foot injury sustained at work will be out for a few weeks and Hughes on holiday in Mexico is out for three weeks.

In to the team came Wilkinson in a three man defensive unit and Jim Wilson started in the midfield for the first time.

5 0 may on paper look like a drubbing for the team, but in effect Morpeth had about 10 minutes in the first half and scored two fantastic goals then in the second half they scored two goals in a minute as RCA started to wilt. Unfortunately for RCA they only tested the home keeper on twooccasions  and for all their possession were unable to put pressure on a Morpeth defence which looked in total control.

The game started at a frantic pace with both teams committed to attacking at every opportunity, a good piece of link up play between Wilson and Halliday, set Brown away down the right and when his cross was met by Barton it looked like an early goal was on the cards unfortunately the striker header was turned round the post by Mundy.

In the nonth minute Grant made a great interception in the heart of the midfield before releasing the ball to Forster who made no mistake blasting the ball past the advancing Carmichael.

RCA responded almost immediately, Wilson found Fryatt in space and the dimintive striker skipped past two challenges before crossing into the box where Jewels was forced to concede a corner, from the corner the ball fell to Halliday who slipped the ball to Wilson but his shot missed the target.

Morpeth went 2-0 up in the 20 minute, a great piece of individual skill from Forster as he cut inside the full back before sending the home fans delerious with a 35 yard looping shot the flashed past Carmichael and into the top corner.

Minues later Fryatt again slipped past his marker but once again his cross into the box was met by a Morpeth defender and cleared.

RCA were starting to get a grip of the midfield and when Wilson slipped the ball to Fryatt inside the area it took a supurb covering tackle from Jewels to deny Barton a chance to get on the score sheet.

In the 36 minute Morpeth won a corner which was headed clear by Brown but the ball fell to Fry who sent the long range effort wide of the RCA goal.

A minute later and a corner at the other end this time Jewels headed clear only as far as Brown who chipped in across to the far post Wray headed the ball out to Wilson who fired low but wide.

As the half time whistle approached Wilson again played in Fryatt and again his effort was blocked by Jewels.

The second half followed the pattern of the first half RCA with a lot of possession but unable to penetrate a very well organised Morpeth defence and Morpeth doing what they do best counter attack at speed.

In the 50th minute a lovely through ball from Halliday found Barton who slammed the ball home only to be ruled offside. From the freekick the ball was played up field to Forster who, controlled the ball well before firing in a shot which went inches wide of the upright.

Five minutes later and substitute Nathan Wilson took a freekick to Fryatt who sent a lovely ball into the box for Barton but he fired over the bar. That could have been 2-2 what happened next was Morpeth at their best.

Henderson won the ball on the right, ran 30 yards with the ball before sending in a teasing cross which was met by Wright who headed the ball home past a helpless Carmichael.

RCA kicked off lost the ball on the right again and the ball was played forward quickly to Swanson who clamly slotted the ball into the net.

A nightmare minute and 4-0 down.

The only meaningful contribution from that point on was a little dribble and a cross shot from Patton which Mundy saved superbly diving to his left.

Forster completed his hat trick in the 90 minute when again he latched onto a long clearance before finishing with some aplomb.

Morpeth obviously had a point to prove after their set back last week against Billingham Town.

RCA having defended really well in their last two matches never got to grips with the game today. We looked decent going forward but where hit time and again by the quick counter attacking play of Morpeth.

Lesson to be learnt in this match is that we need to defend first and the attacking options will come. Morpeth showed that today, We showed it against Marske last Tuesday.

Next up is Billingham Town who beat Morpeth last week so this will be no pushover. 

RCA's central defender Danny Wray takes on attacking duties in the second half of the match, where he's up against ex-RCA man and Billingham Town captain Michael Dalton.

Saturday, 15 March 2014

EBAC Northern League Division 1

Goalscorers: SRCA:  Barton (2), N. Wilson:   Bilingham Town: Dalton

Please click here for photos from the match.

Please click here for Neil Smith's photographs.

Further team selection problems beset the management team ahead of this crucial EBAC Northern League Div I fixture, Stephen Baynes and Andrew Brown were both sick, Philip Horsman foot injury and Joseph Hughes Holiday were also unavailable and Ross Wilkinson returning to Shildon did not help the situation.

The formation reverted to 4-4-2 with Jury returning to full back, Jack Stanger started in midfield, Shields on the right wing and Patton up front returning to the team. Looking at the team it looked a little unbalanced with no left sided players in the squad. There was some light on the horizon with the return of Kyle Morris to the bench  after a long lay-off with an ankle injury.

RCA started the game kicking up the slope and against a very strong blustery wind. As has become customary in recent matches RCA took the lead inside the first 2 minutes when a through ball from Stanger was chased down by Shields, the Billingham defender Hodgeson was first to the ball but his attempted back pass to Pisani was poor and the keeper mis kicked straight to Barton who made no mistake from 5 yards out.

It could so easily have been 2-0 a minute later when Halliday took a quick freekick to Shields who slipped into the box before crossing to Barton who powered in a header which was brilliantly saved by Pisani.

Billingham settled into the game and started to utilise the wind to their advantage in the 10 minute after some good work by Dalton and Hill the ball fell to Crust who fired over the bar from 25 yards out.

A quickly taken throw in by Dixon found Dalton and Billingham set up another attack this time Dalton played the ball into the path of Jackson who fired low but just wide of the upright.

RCA countered immediately as Carmichael found Stanger from the goalkick, he played the ball wide to Fryatt who clipped the ball first time into the middle of the park where Patton was completely free, his fierce drive was well saved by Pisani.

With Billingham forging forward with the assistance of the wind the RCA defence appeared to be coping well and looked fairly comfortable until the 30 minute when Fryatt was dipossesed on the half way line and the ball was sent forward, took a wicked bounce and landed at the feet of Dalton and the Billingham Town Captain did not need a second chance striking the ball into the roof of the net from 10 yards out.

There was a frantic end to the half with Shields sliding the ball through to Stanger who shot narrowly wide then at the other end a freekick by Ballantyne was headed into the arms of Carmichael by Horsley.

The second period took place almost entirely in the opposition half with RCA throwing the ball forward at every opportunity and Billingham defending supremely well.

Fryatt almost unlocked the Town defence with a mazy dribble which ended when Hodgson blocked the final shot.

Then Patton dribbled into the area only to be stopped by Hodgson and the ball fell kindly for Pisani.

A corner into the box by Patton was headed down by Preston and blocked on th eline by Jackson, in the gaolmouth scramble that followed the ball was cleared up field only to set up another RCA attack.

It looked likely the that game was going to end 1-1 as both teams looked to cancel each other out. Then in the 85 minute RCA were awarded a freekick 25 yards out up stepped substitute Nathan Wilson to strike in an absolute thunderbolt of a shot which rocketed into the net.

The final nail in the coffin of a very spirited Billingham Town team came in the 89 minute when a cross into the box found Barton who mishit his shot which struck Pisani but the rebound fell to Barton who scrambled it over the goal line.

Not a vintage performance but it was workmanlike effort in atrocious conditions. It was also a well earned three points which move us back up the table.

Billingham can take heart from this match and their recent form suggests that they are capable of mounting a challenge for promotion from the second division next season.

From RCA's point of view we have to make sure that the points earned today are not wasted and that we match or better all of Team Northumbria's results.

Next up is Penrith on Tuesday.

Tuesday, 18 March 2014

EBAC Northern League Division 1

Goalscorers:  SRCA:  None   Penrith: Gardiner.

RCA welcomed, after umpteen postponements, Penrith to Meadow Park for this important EBAC Northern League match; three points for either team would almost certainly guarantee survival in the first division for next season.

Once again their was a strong blustery wind blowing directly down the slope which Penrith took advantage of in the first half.

However it was RCA who had the first real opportunity to attack with Shields getting past one marker before crossing into the box to Patton who fired straight at a Penrith defender.

The game was in danger of getting out of hand as early as the eighth minute when a reckless challenge on Jury by Read went unpunished by the referee and a minute later he had to have a word with Jury and Davidson after words were exchanged.

In the 10th minute a corner was awarded to Penrith and the cross in by Cameron Wilson was headed over the bar by the Rigg.

A midfield battle ensued for the next 10 minutes with both teams fully committed to winning the battle.

In the 19th minute a long throw from Williams was collected by Gardiner in the penalty area; the Penrith striker swivelled with the ball before sending it into the bottom corner of the net just out of reach of Carmichael.

Penrith, for all their possession, were not creating many real chances with to many long range efforts flying well wide of the target and when they did try to get into teh penalty area they were met with a very resilient RCA defence.

On the half hour mark Penrith had only their second real shot on goal when Read managed to slip his marker before firing in  a low driven shot which Carmichael saved supurbly.

RCA were being forced to defend in numbers but were always dangerous on the counter attack, especially with the introduction of the pacy Fryatt for the injured Shields.

In the 40th minute it took a great defensive covering challenge from Jury to deny Jackson a strike at an empty net after Carmichael looked to have been fouled in the original build up play.

As the cliché goes this was always going to be a game of two halves and so it turned out as RCA piled on the pressure in the second half but like Penrith in the first half they were finding it difficult to get a clear shot on target as Penrith's defence held firm.

In the 65th minute a breakaway by Davidson ended with a good challenge from Preston sending the ball for a corner, inexplicably the referee awarded a goal kick to RCA. This started a serious of bizarre events which culminated in the game getting out of hand as the players got frustrated at the some of the decisions given.

Fryatt was on the end of a number of cynical fouls, all of which went unpunished and in the 67th minute RCA recorded their first shot on target when they were awarded a freekick after yet another foul on Fryatt. Patton struck a sweet freekick which brought a truly spectacular save from Richardson.

From the resulting corner the ball was headed behind for a second corner by Taylor, this time when the ball was played in Barton's header struck Davidson and went over the bar, a goal kick awarded infuriated the RCA players.

From the goalkick the ball was played wide where Fryatt won the ball and played the ball into Barton who spun past his defender before chipping the keeper only to have the goal disallowed for offside.

Then within a minute, as RCA started to dominate, the ball was played into the area by Stanger to Barton who in the process of shooting was hauled to the ground and the ball spun away harmlessly to Richardson in the Penrith goal.

RCA continued to dominate possession without testing the keeper and you could not fault the effort of the players from both sides.

However as the game drifted toward full time the game became scappy and disjointed. Andrew Brown had an effort saved by the keeper. Stanger also had an effort which went wide and in the dying minutes a shot from Barton was blocked by Rigg.

If effort and endeavour won football matches then we would have won this one comfortably. A draw would have been a fair result unfortunately, on the night Penrith carried that little bit of luck.

Saturday, 22 March 2014

EBAC Northern League Division 1

Goalscorers: SRCA: Jim Wilson  Guisborough : Roberts, Bythway.

How the fortunes of these two teams have changed in recent years. Two years ago it was RCA who were flying high in the First Division and now it is Guisborough Town who are enjoying a truly remarkable transformation.

RCA welcomed Philip Horsman back after his foot injury and Shaun McAvoy, a recent signing from Chester Le Street, started in the centre of midfield.

The Priorymen started well and  as early as the third minute they had their first effort on goal a long ball from Bythway was collected by Gell on the left wing; he played the ball into Johnson but Guisborough's prolific goalscorer drilled his shot wide of the target.

At the other end some good work by Stanger saw him win the ball in the centre circle before distributing it forward to Barton; his knock on fell into the path of McAvoy who forced a good save from Coddington.

Guisborough continued to press forward and were playing some controlled football out of defence but they were finding it difficult to get the ball to their minfielders as Stanger and McAvoy looked to dominate the middle of the park.

Guisborough, somewhat fortuitously, took the lead in the 23rd minute when a Horsman slip allowed Risborough into the box where he was fouled and the Referee pointed to the spot. Up stepped Roberts to hammer the ball into the net from the penalty spot.

RCA were almost level five minutes later when a freekick just outside the area was taken by Patton who floated the ball to the far post where Preston rose to head back toward goal forcing Coddington to tip the ball over the bar.

Guisborough were under pressure a minute later giving away another freekick 25 yards out. This time Stanger took the kick quickly to McAvoy who turned and fired in a low shot which Coddington saved at the foot of the post.

In the 33rd minute the Priorymen went 2-0 up, a corner was passed out to Bythway about 30 yards out and he fired in a stunning shot which left the RCA defence rooted to the spot as it rocketed into the net.

It could have been worse a minute later when Carling sent Roberts away but the striker, under pressure from Horsman, fired wide.

RCA came back and yet another freekick caused problem for the home defence, Stanger's freekick was headed backwards by Bishop and Jim Wilson could only head into the side netting with Bythway in close attendance.

Two minutes from half time Patton crossed in a corner which was met by Barton, his header was cleared off the line by Oldfield and in the ensuing goalmouth scramble both Carling and Bishop blocked shots before the ball was cleared.

The second half started with RCA on top, forcing Guisborough to defend in numbers.

In the 56th minute they were rewarded when a freekick, taken by Carmichael, was allowed to run through to Wilson who was ghosting in at the far post and the RCA winger got to the ball first to divert it past the keeper and into the net.

This gave RCA the boost that they needed and it took some desperate defending to stop Hughes from getting onto the score sheet when he slipped past two defender inside the penalty area only to see his shot hit Carling and rebound to safety.

Guisborough were still dangerous on the counter and Jury had to be at his very best to intercept the ball after Bythway had found Gell in acres of space the ball bounced away from the Guisborough player and Jury was able to nip in and clear.

In the 70th minute RCA had a penalty appeal turned down when Barton looked to be fouled by Bythway as he tried to get a header on target.

With time running out RCA threw caution to the wind pushing players forward in an effort to get the equaliser. A shot from Hughes struck Barton and went wide for a goal kick.

Guisborough tried to take advantage of RCA over commitment to attack and almost scored again when Johnson picked up a loose ball before firing in a shot which Carmichael did well to save and Wray was on hand to clear up.

RCA had the lion's share of the game for the last 10 minutes without testing the Guisborough keeper and the home team held on to the end.

This was avery spirited display from the whole  RCA team against a Guisborough team who are flying high in the league. If we can produce performances like that from now until the end of the seasonthen we will be ok.

We certainly deserved something out of this game. 

RCA forward Joe Hughes in first half action.

Saturday, 29 March 2014

EBAC Northern League Division 1

Goalscorers:  SRCA: Fryatt  Ashington: Walton (2)

Please click here for photos from the match.

Please click here for Ashington manager's comments on the match.

Please click here for Dave Lee's comments on the match.

With both Wray and Barton missing because of work commitments the managers were forced to make changes to the team that performed so well last Saturday at Guisborough Town. In came Hughes to partner Patton up front, Horsman moved to central defence and Aaron Brown, playing his last match for RCA before leaving for Scandanavia, was brought in at left back.

This game had everything, three goals, two disallowed goals, penalty appeals turned down, woodwork rattled and a sending off and that was just the first half. The game turned in the final five minutes after RCA had dominated for most of the second half and Ashington took full advantage the winner coming in the 89th minute.

Another bright start from RCA saw them almost open the scoring inside two minutes, Fryatt running past two defenders, as they appealed for offside, before clipping the ball into the six yard area where it was cleared by Taylor.  A minute later and a long clearance from Carmichael was headed on by Hughes to Fryatt but he shot wide of the target.

Ashington responded through Walton, the Colliers' striker getting between two defenders before firing into the side netting.

A long ball out of defence by Christensen set up another Ashington attack, the ball falling to Glen Taylor, but he shot well wide of the target.

The game was end to end and in the 10th minute after Walton had forced a save from Carmichael the ball was sent up filed were Hughes controlled the ball before setting up Patton but his shot was blocked by Christensen.

Two minutes later Patton returned the favour this time heading the ball on to Hughes who was quickly closed down by Dryden in the visitors goal.

In the 22nd minute the Colliers took the lead when a defensive clearance fell to Carson who delivered a good cross to Walton who finished well from eight yards out.

Within a minute RCA almost got the equaliser when Hughes fired wide from the edge of the area then  agreat through ball from Stanger was picked up by Hughes who sent in a terrific shot which had Dryden at full stretch to save. the rusultant corner was only partially cleared to the edge of the box where Stanger was on hand to fire in a shot which went inches wide of the upright.

The game seemed to be turning RCA way a Jim Wilson effort from 16 yards struck the underside of the bar and was scrambled clear the ball was forced back into the penalty area where Hughes mishit his shot and Dryden was able to make a comfortable save.

Then Hughes looked to have a good shout for a penalty when he burst between two defenders before being barged off the ball inside the 18 yard area.

Ashington responded with a fine effort from Glen Taylor which was well saved by Carmichael. Almost immediately play switched to the other end where Jim Wilson once again powered in a shot which struck the bar and fell straight into Dryden's arms.

During the next few minutes the game became scrappy as both teams looked for the half time whistle, during this time the referee was alerted to a problem in the Home team technical area which led to the dismissal of Stephen Halliday, for a comment made to the Assistant Referee. 

With time running out in the first half RCA got back on level terms with a well deserved eqauliser, when the ball was played across from McAvoy to Fryatt who ran onto the ball before cracking it out of the reach of Dryden and into the corner of the net.

With the advantage of the slope in the second half RCA pushed forward looking to capitalise on their good end to the first half. the first cahance of the half fell to Hughes who was put through by Stanger his turn and shot was saved one handed by Dryden.

The game, as it did in the first half, swung from end to end and the next opportunity fell to Walton who, with his back to goal, picked up a pass from Johnson before turning and forcing an excellent save from Carmichael.

In the 65th minute RCA thought that they had taken the lead when Hughes slipped past two defenders, got to the by line before crossing low into the box, the ball was cleared by Christensen, but went straight back to Hughes who again put the ball into the danger area where the ball was bundled into the net. It was a great disappointment to see the Assistant Referee flagging for offside.

RCA were in the ascendancy and were trying to make their extra possession tell, McAvoy fed the ball to Fryatt who crossed to the far post where Wilson was unmarked, the RCA winger volleyed the ball gaolward but Dryden, who was having a great game, once again pulled off agreat save.

RCA started to tire and the Colliers looked to have weathered the storm as they started to make in roads into RCA's defence. A shot from Carson in the 75 minute was well saved by Carmichael.

Two minutes later Glen Taylor found space on the edge of the box, but fired well over the bar.

Oliver and Johnson combined in the 80th minute to create a chance for Walton, but his shot was blocked by Preston; in the goalmouth scramble that followed no fewer than four shots were blocked by RCA defenders before the ball was eventually cleared up field. Two minutes later and a cross into the box was met by Walton who headed home, but once again the Assistant Referee's flag was up for offside.

RCA were shocked into all out attack now looking for the winner that would give them three vital points in their fight for relegation.

Stanger played the ball to Fryatt who played in Patton, surrounded by Asshington players the RCA striker curled in a shot which only just cleared the bar. 

The killer blow came in the 89th minute when Johnson picked up the ball on the left and the Colliers' captain took on two defenders before crossing into the path of Walton who mishit his shot into the net.

With minutes on the clock Ashington blocked any further attempts on their gaol.

This was a cracking game of football for the neutral, how RCA didn't come away with anything from this match is unbelievable but the spirit shown and the passion to fight for the cause can not be questioned. Once again every player was exceptional today.

We take on Bedlington next week and it will be another battle, two young sides looking to the future.