RCA winger Tony Coe prepares another raid down the right in the second half of the match.
Friday, 15 August 2014
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Goalscorers: SRCA: Callen: Bishop Auckland: Butler.
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It is a quirk of fate that we seem to draw Bishops in some cup competition or other during a season so it was no surprise to see the FA Cup draw pair us together. Matches in cup competitions have always been hard fought encounters and tonight's match would be no exception.
The RCA team saw the return to defence of Wray in place of Horsman, Stanger returned to the centre of midfield replacing Hughes. Andrew Brown also returned to the bench after injury.
Bishops were in great spirits, having won their opening two encounters in the league at Celtic Nation and West Auckland.
RCA started the game but were soon under pressure. Lawson picked up a loose ball and sent it forward to Brunskill who was stopped in his tracks by Wray, only for RCA to give the ball away again; this time it was Nicholson who won the ball and his pass picked out Butler on the edge of the RCA penalty area, he moved forward unchecked before blasting the ball into the roof of the net past the helpless Carmichael. Bishops 1-0 up inside two minutes.
Bishops looked like they were going to completely overrun RCA as they pushed forward and it took some excellent defending to keep them at bay, even so they should have gone 2-0 up on five minutes when Brunskill looked certain to score but managed to shoot well over the bar when in a good position.
It was one way traffic at the moment and RCA were finding it difficult to get into their passing game, in the ninth minute a poor clearance fell to Tarling who side stepped a challenge before unleashing a low drive which skimmed past the post after taking a deflection off a RCA defender. Thompson curled the corner to the far post where Lavery was unmarked fortunately for RCA he headed wide of the post.
The first real effort on goal by RCA came in the 20th minute when Gary Wood hooked the ball forward and Morris controlled the ball and, seeing Pocklington off his line, tried to lob the keeper, but the ball was easily saved and Pocklington was able to set up another Bishops attack down the right.
A quick counter attack by RCA produced their best move of the game so far. Preston won the ball on the edge of the box and slid it to Gary Wood, he in turn passed to Callen who was cutting in from the right, he clipped the ball through the Bishops' defence for Lewis Wood who burst into the box to fire in a shot, unfortunately the linesman's flag was up for offside.
Bishops were in no mood to settle back and pushed forward once more. A good run by Thompson saw his effort saved by Carmichael. a minute later Bishops were awarded a freekick which was swung into the box by Megran and headed wide by Butler.
There were signs that RCA were getting back into the game as they started to get more possession and Bishops looked to run out of ideas on how to break down the RCA defence. Gary Wood once again produced an inch perfect pass to Coe on the right and his cross into the box was met by Lewis Wood who could only direct his header straight at Pocklington.
The long ball tactics of Bishops almost paid off when Lane latched onto a freekick by Megran but his shot was well saved by Carmichael.
When Lawson found Butler with a long ball, it looked to be a carbon copy of his opening goal but this time Manab produced a great tackle to stop the forward in his tracks.
The cutting edge that Bishops had shown earlier in the game was missing when Nicholson made a great run down the right before sending in a perfect cross which was missed by both of Bishops' forward players and went halmlessly wide for a goal kick.
In the 40th minute RCA were awarded a freekick on the right. Coe took the kick and it was headed away by Lawson into the path of Lewis Wood who looped hi shot onto the roof of the net.
RCA were making inroads into the Bishops' defence for the first time in the game. Jury, surging forward picked up a pass from Gary Wood, played the ball to Coe who slipped the ball back to Jury on the overlap but a great covering tackle from Lavery stopped the attack.
RCA levelled the scores in the 44th minute when, after a spell of possession, the ball was switched to the right wing where Coe controlled the ball before delivering a perfect cross into the area and Callen raced in to head home past a bewildered Pocklington.
What was said at half time by the two managers only the players will know but the transformation in both teams was enormous. RCA, undoubtedly bouyed by their equaliser late in the first half, were a revelation in the second whereas Bishops who had controlled most of the first half were a shadow of that team in the second.
RCA went straight on the attack, Callen who had been switched to a more central role picked up the ball 30 yards out and ran at the Bishops' defence before side footing the ball to Coe whose shot was blocked by Riding.
RCA were working hard in midfield to win back the ball and It was the combination of stanger and Gary Wood which set up their next attack Stanger sending the ball out to Lewis Wood who found Morris inside the penalty area but he fired wide of the target.
At the other end a rare attack by Bishops saw a Lavery freekick crossed into the box and headed down by Butler, Carmichael made the save and was fouled as the ball was cleared for a second time.
RCA piled forward again. This time a through ball from Preston was flicked on by Callen to Morris who again fired low but into the side netting. A minute later and Coe burst down the right before sending in a great cross to the far post to Morris who could only direct his shot inches wide of the upright.
It was all RCA in the second half in a complete reversal of the first half. Coe was the instigator of the next attack as he found time and space to cross into the box, but it was headed over the bar for corner by Lawson. Coe took the corner and again Lawson headed behind for yet another corner. This time Coe picked out Wray who headed straight at Pocklington.
In the 75th minute Gary Wood sent a through ball into the path of Coe, but Pocklington raced out of his goal to control the ball before clearing up field, the ball fell to Gary Wood 35 yards out and he tried to send the ball into the net but Pocklington was able to get back in time to make an easy save.
Thompson set up Bishops' next attack as he moved forward on the right, his cross was headed clear by Wray, the ball falling to Megran who fired the ball back into the box where Carmaichael made a great save under pressure from Butler.
In a final throw of the dice RCA sent on Hughes to add pace to the attack and he almost scored with his first touch of the ball showing a clean pair of heels to Lawson, but his shot was saved by Pocklington.
In the 85th minute, Hughes burst into Bishops box and looked to be fouled in the process of crossing, but neither the referee or the assistant saw anything wrong.
RCA's final chance of the game fell to Lewis Wood who showed some good control as he evaded a number of tackles to create an opening for himself before unleashing a low drive which was well saved at the foot of the post by Pocklington.
Bishops almost stole the game in the final minute of added time when substitute Sakr got free of the defence but sent his shot horribly wide of the target.
The replay will take place on Tuesday, 19 August 2014. Kick off 7.45pm.
RCA were well worth the draw in this encounter and maybe with a bit of good fortune could have won it.
If you forget about the first half an hour RCA showed that they can pass the ball effectively and keep control of the game. In previous games they have played well without getting the result that their efforts deserved. Tonight they got their just desserts for an excellent all round display for the last hour.
To quote an old phrase used in football "the job is only half done", on Tuesday we need to finish the job off.