Kyle Morris, scorer of RCA's first goal, on midfield ball winning duties.
Saturday, 11 January 2014
EBAC Northern League Division 1
Goalscorers: SRCA: Morris, Hughes Whitley Bay: Reid
Please click here for match photos.
SRCA were forced to make two changes to the team that played so well in last week's win against Consett FC. Danny Wray failed a late fitness test and was replaced by Ross Preston; Jack Stanger was unavailable due to work commitments and Nathan Wilson stepped into the vacated midfield position.
Whitley Bay took advantage of the slope and the wind in the first half and were quickly on the attack forcing RCA to defend in the early stages. A ball into the box by McFarlane was headed away by Preston but fell to Chow on the edge of the box, the Bay striker fired in a low shot which was deflected for a corner.
In the ninth minute a free kick taken by Anderson was headed goalwards by Chow, but Jury was on hand to clear off the line. The ball fell to Novak 30 yards out and the full back crossed into the box towards Rivers, but Preston got to the ball first and was able to clear.
RCA tried to pick up the pace of their game and when Brown slid the ball to Fryatt the winger showed tremendous pace to outstrip the Whitley Bay defence, but when he cut inside to shoot he found Ameobi in his path and he was easily dispossessed by the defender.
On 20 minutes a cross into the RCA penalty area by Anderson was picked up by Rivers, but Preston was once again on hand to block the shot.
The Bay were in control of the match at this point in the game and when Novak picked up the ball on the left wing he was left unchallenged as he ran twenty yards before crossing into the area where Chow controlled the ball on his chest before turning and shooting into the side netting.
Novak was seeing a lot of the ball in the first 30 minutes and was involved once again in the Bay's next attacking move which saw him hit the post from 20 yards out after RCA defence had not dealt with a corner very effectively. Minutes later the full back struck a 40 yard shot well wide of the target.
The Bay continued to press and when Rivers and Chow played an intricate one-two the ball fell to McMullen inside the six yard area, but his shot flew well wide of the goal.
RCA eventually started to make inroads into the Bay's defence. Patton received a great through ball from Wilson, jinked past one defender, but was tackled by Ameobi and the ball was cleared.
Within a minute RCA had their first shot on target when Morris slid in an inch perfect pass to Wilson who fired in a low shot which was collected by Harley.
In the final moments of the half Fryatt slipped past his marker again and this time managed to get in a shot which went narrowly wide.
Whitley Bay continued to press forward at the start of the second half and Rivers was guilty of missing the target after being sent clear by Chow's lovely through ball.
Against the run of play RCA took the lead. A cross field ball found Morris on the angle of the penalty area, the RCA winger rode three tackles as he worked the ball into a central position before unleashing a terrific low shot past the outstretched hand of Harley and into the bottom corner of the net.
The goal lifted RCA and they could have been two up five minutes later when Barton headed the ball on to Patton who found space for the first time in the game, but could only shoot straight at Harley.
The introduction of Moore almost had an immediate effect as, with his first touch, he went clear of the RCA defence before blasting his shot well wide of the target.
In the 80th minute a corner for Whitley Bay was headed down by Reid and cleared off the line for the second time in the game by Jury. The play was quickly switched to the other end of the pitch and where Barton's shot was blocked by Ryan, the ball spun past Marley but Ameobi was quick to react and cleared the ball off the line,
In the 85th minute substitute Hughes was fouled on the edge of the box by Ameobi. Wilson struck a beautiful free kick which was brilliantly saved by Harley, but the ball fell to Hughes who volleyed the ball home from close range to record his first goal for RCA on his debut.
Whitley Bay got back into the game in the last minute of normal time when a corner wasn't cleared by the RCA defence. The ball fell to Chow who had his shot blocked, but Reid was on hand to stab the ball home from close range.
This set up a final few fraught minutes for RCA who once again were forced to defend deep in their own half and it was of great relief to the RCA players when the final whistle was blown.
On another day this could have been a heavy defeat for RCA, however, it shows how far we have come in recent weeks. Everyone is now showing great commitment to the cause and in this game it was evident right throughout the team.
Whitley Bay for their part will reflect on the amount of possession they had and on the amount of missed chances.
Next week we play Team Nothumbria in what will undoubtedly be classed as a six-pointer. If we produce the same level of performances as the last two weeks then we should be capable of getting a result there.