Recent signing Kieran Charlton takes on Consett captain Arjun Purewal.
More photos from the match are here.
Sunderland RCA welcomed top of the table Consett to a blustery Sunderland LGV Park and after their convincing 3-0 win against Whitley Bay on Tuesday there was an air of expectation around the ground.
The injury woes continued with the latest being leading goal scorer Mark Davison with an ankle injury sustained in the mid-week match. New signing Kieran Charlton from Workington was brought in and the management team changed the formation to 3-5-2.
The teams lined up as follows:
Sunderland RCA: Bond, Weirs, Charlton, Jakab, Hawkins ©, Errington, Hennis, J Carr, Annang-Colquhoun, Winn, Watts. Subs: Richardson, J Croft, Lawrence, Hunter, Marrs.
Consett: Coombe, Metz, Martin, Slocombe, Purewal, Allen, Orrell, Smith, Larkin, L Carr, Lawson: Subs: Holden, Scott, Guy, Marriott, Wilkinson.
Taking advantage of the wind and the slope in the first half, RCA started well playing the ball forward quickly and putting pressure on the Consett defence and were unlucky not to open the scoring when a cross into the box by Weirs was met by Annang-Colquhoun who stabbed the ball wide under pressure from Allen. Offside given could so easily have been a penalty.
Hawkins playing in the unfamiliar role of sweeper set up the next attack moving the ball out of defence he played a great ball out to Watts who sent in a wicked low cross which was cleared by Coombe, the ball fell to Winn on the edge of the box and he fired in a shot which was blocked by Allen.
With chances few and far between it wasn’t until the 21 minute that Consett produced a meaningful attack, Allen played the ball out to Metz on the right in space, he moved forward before whipping in a near post cross where RCA old boy Larkin was on hand to steer the ball into the net past Bond, another champagne moment in a glittering career.
The visitors now had something to hold on to and were in no mood to give it up lightly for all RCA’s possession and pressure goal scoring opportunities were at a premium and the Consett rearguard held firm.
In fact it was the visitors who almost doubled their lead when Larkin latched onto a great through ball from another ex RCA player Lawson before rounding Bond but uncharacteristically hit his shot into the side netting.
RCA responded straight away to this let off from the goal kick Hennis played the ball into space on the left where Charlton picked it up before driving forward and hitting a powerful low shot across Coombe but just wide of the far post.
In the final moments of the half Carr intercepted the ball in the centre circle, played it out to Weirs who crossed the ball into the box to Winn but he couldn’t direct his header on target.
A surging run by Winn heralded the start of the second half, picking up a pass from Errington he strode forward into the opposition penalty area but his shot was blocked by Allen.
A minute later and Jakab won the ball before sending it forward to Weirs, he squared the ball to J Carr who drilled a low shot toward goal but that man Allen was on hand to block the shot and clear the ball.
Having weathered the early storm Consett started to get back into the game, Martin broke down the left before crossing into the box where Larkin was able to get in a good header but, to the relief of the RCA defence, the ball flew over the bar.
The game became bogged down in the midfield with both sides probing at the opposition defence but not creating any clear cut chances. Time and again good attacking positions were thwarted by excellent defending.
The game exploded into life in the 70 minute when a throw out by Bond was picked up by Charlton who sent a long 40 yard cross into the penalty area, a mix up between Martin and Coombe allowed Weirs the opportunity to nip in, control the ball, and slide it into the net for the equaliser.
With their tails up RCA almost took the lead four minutes later when a crossfield ball from Watts was picked up on the right by Weirs, he had time a space to cut inside before unleashing a terrific driven shot which Coombe managed to get a fingertip to and the ball crashed of the post to safety, a truly brilliant diving save.
As the game entered the final 15 minutes the visitors again started to apply pressure causing a few problems at the back for RCA who were happy to clear their lines for the time being.
However in the 80 minute an RCA throw in was intercepted by Larkin who flicked the ball through to L Carr inside the penalty area and the Consett front man under pressure from Jakab made no mistake firing the ball beyond Bond.
RCA threw everything at Consett in the final minutes. Richardson made a good run down the left before smashing a shot into the legs of Purewal, then a shot from Weirs was blocked by Slocombe but in the end the Consett defence held firm to take the spoils in a very hard fought contest.
Once again we come away from a match against Consett feeling that we should have got something out of the game.
Everyone contributed in a positive way to an entertaining match. Throughout the game they worked as a unit with everyone doing the job they were asked to do. The management team will take a lot of positives from this game and will I’m sure be asking for this level of performance in our remaining fixtures. We should not let our standards drop to those of the opposition which we have been guilty of in the past.
Next up we play West Allotment Celtic away on Tuesday, 9 November 2021. Kick off 7.30pm.