Click here for a slideshow of photos from the match.
Through rain hard enough for Noah to have readied his ark, Durham City and RCA served up an entertaining performance of end-to-end football.
With the exception of defensive errors and missed opportunities in the second half, this was RCA's best performance in their pre-season run. Not that anyone would have guessed that in the first minute when Durham opened the scoring. Lee Owens equalised soon after and gave RCA the lead from the penalty spot after Brian Close was upended.
In the second half RCA broke clear on at least three occasions and it seemed that they must increase their lead, but Durham rode their luck and cleared off the line. Durham proved more incisive, scoring twice from right wing crosses, netting the winner minutes from time.
As you can expect at these tme of the year, RCA did not have a full complement of available players. We started with Kyle Donaldson, Steve Jones, Adam McGuinness, Leon Carling, Ian Maddison, Brian Close, Ian Cuthbertson, Joe Walton, Harrison Davies, Lee Owens and Mark Davison, with Gary Shields, David Wells and Steve Buddy Halliday coming on in the second half.
Wayne Henderson, Joe Fairish, Gavin Barton, Carl Beasley and Gary Hoggeth provided support from the (dry) terraces. The good news is that Hoggy's injury at Ryhope CW on Wednesday night is "just bruising" and he expects to be available fro next Saturday.
Finally, thanks to Durham City FC for their hospitality: nice, friendly people and a good club.