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Arngrove Northern League Division 2
Saturday, 12 January 2008
An excellent display of attacking football from RCA, although the final scoreline is undoubtedly harsh on a strong Stokesley team who contributed much to a very entertaining game.
RCA gave debuts to Sean Davies, newly signed on loan from Newcastle Blue Star for the remainder of the season, Steve Houlahan and Andrew Hoban, joining on a permanent basis from Ryton and Willington respectively. Davies started in the left back spot as RCA lined up in an unfamiliar 4-4-2 formation, while Houlahan and Hoban had to settle for places on the bench.
The game started with Stokesley the brighter side and after 10 minutes they could have taken the lead as Sonny Andrews saw his effort strike the post and run away to safety. RCA began to settle and took the lead after 14 minutes as Adam McGuinness met a Lee Owens corner to plant the ball past the Stokesley keeper with a powerful header.
Five minutes later Andy Jennings made it 2-0 with a smart finish after an excellent break down the right by Lee Owens. Shortly after Stokesley hit the post again, and began to have that sinking feeling that it wasn't going to be there day!
A tremendous Jennings effort, which saw him juggle the ball along the edge of the box before firing in a great shot which the keeper just managed to parry onto the bar, brought applause from the crowd before a rare Wayne Henderson goal, again a header from a corner, saw RCA into the break with a comfortable 3-0 lead, although the Stokesley fans were wondering how they hadn't managed at least one themselves.
The second half started busily until Paul Sammons seized on a loose ball to fire into the net from the edge of the box, to make it 4-0 after 58 minutes. Andrew Hoban replaced Gary Shields for his debut after 63 minutes and the game meandered a little, until a superb Lev Yalcin free kick gave Stokesley a flicker of hope in the 78th minute.
Steve Houlahan came on for Adam McGuinness in the 80th minute, and then two goals in a minute from Andrew Hoban and Paul Sammons, in the 87th and 88th minutes, finished Stokesley off. A super game, and evidence of the potency RCA now possess going forward, but sympathy for Stokesley, who competed hard throughout.