Penrith 0 Sunderland RCA 5

Double scorer Callum Guy fires in a first half shot.

We travelled across the A66 to Penrith for this Ebac Northern League fixture. The newly named Leo Group Stadium was looking a picture and the weather was probably more suited to a quiet game of cricket or bowls rather than an action packed 90 minutes of football.

RCA, without a league win so far this season, having drawn two and lost in the 91^st minute to West Auckland in midweek were looking for a more favorable result today to match their performances, which in the main have been excellent.

The management team made one change to the starting eleven with Johnson returning to replace Charmey and on the bench we saw the unexpected return of Lavery from injury and Morris from holiday, they were joined by Daryll Hall who recently signed for the club after a 10+ year absence.

The teams lined up as follows:

Penrith: Taylor, Best, Cham, Burns, Howarth, Moynan ©, Ward, Hunter, Shields, Tait, Taylor. Subs: Prokas, Cullen, Brunskill, Morrison, Murray-Jones.

Sunderland RCA: Marrs, Lawrence, Charlton ©, Nelson, Hawkins, Jakab, Patton, Moan, Davison, Johnson, Guy. Subs:  Morris, Lavery, Charmey, Hall, Annang-Colquhoun.

The game started at a sedate pace which was to be expected in the 30 degree heat. RCA had the first real chance when Nelson played the ball forward to Davison who chested it down to Guy, he cut inside before playing a reverse pass to Davison who sent in a great cross which fell at the feet of Johnson 10 yards from goal but the flag was up for offside nevertheless this was a good move and showed RCA’s attacking intent.

In the fifth minute Penrith were awarded a penalty for a tackle on Shields which looked like very minimal contact and not enough for the player to go down. Ward stepped forward to take the Penalty kick which he sent straight down the middle and Marrs was able to stick out a foot and the ball flew to safety.

RCA almost took the lead two minutes later when Jakab intercepted the ball deep in his own half; he played the ball to Charlton who took it forward before sending a low cross into the box which was inches away from Davison and Johnson inside the penalty area.

The visitors took the lead and it was again Charlton who was the architect, picking the ball up on the halfway line he spotted the run of Guy and sent a lovely ball forward which flicked of the head of Howarth and fell at the feet of Guy who hit a low shot which was saved by Taylor but Johnson was on hand to smash the ball into the net.

A heavy tackle on Charlton on the halfway line meant a fairly lengthy stoppage while his condition was being assessed and the referee ordered a drinks break, luckily Charlton’s injury was not a serious as first thought and he was able to resume.

After the impromptu drinks break Hawkins took the resulting free kick which was played out to Johnson on the right but he lashed his shot wide of the target.

RCA should have been two up in the 20th minute, Moan won the ball in midfield and played in Lawrence who in turn found Johnson in space on the right, he crossed into the box where Davison inside the six yard area sent in a bullet header which was magnificently saved by Taylor.

As the game progressed it was RCA who were forcing the pace with Penrith guilty of a lot of misplaced passes and it was not a surprise to see them increase their lead in the 26th minute. Lawrence and Moan combined in midfield before the ball was played forward to Patton on the edge of the box where he deftly back-heeled the ball into the path of Guy who latched onto the pass before drilling the ball into the top corner of the net.

The home team, reeling from this setback, struggled to cope with the constant pressure of the RCA offensive. Their only strike on goal came after half an hour when Shields picked up the ball on the right edge of the RCA box before driving a low shot which Marrs saved at the foot of his near post.

RCA were quick to respond, a long ball forward from Hawkins found Johnson in acres of space his cross was again met by the head of Davison but the ball flicked off a defender's head and over the bar, inexplicably the referee gave a goal kick.

Whether it was the heat or the pace of the game it became very scrappy with neither team seeming able to string a number of passes together.

When the visitors did manage to get their composure back it resulted in goal number three. A throw in on the right by Lawrence was chested on by Davison to Guy who swept past a Penrith defender before hitting an absolute peach of a shot into the roof of the net from 25 yards out giving Taylor absolutely no chance.  

With a minute remaining of the half Marrs was again brought into action when Penrith’s captain Moynan struck a terrific drive from fully 30 yards out which was dipping under the crossbar until the RCA keeper manager to fingertip it over the bar.

The resulting corner was only cleared as far as Best on the edge of the box and he hit a low volley which Marrs did well to save diving to his right and smothering the ball.

RCA started the second half pushing forward, a Lawrence throw on the right was found Johnson inside the penalty area but the striker could only poke the ball forward and it was easily saved by Taylor.

Annang-Colquhoun replaced Johnson after 54 minutes and was immediately in the action. A good ball forward from Patton picked out the run of Annang-Colquhoun who burst into the penalty area but his shot was blocked by Burns for a corner, Charlton took the corner which was met by Davison and produced another good save from Taylor before Nelson fired his effort wide of the target.

It was almost all one way traffic with Penrith forced to defend deep, a shot from Guy, looking for his hat-trick, was well saved by Taylor and a minute later the Penrith keeper had to be alert when Patton struck a shot from 30 yards out which he tipped over the bar.

The visitors made a number of substitutions bringing on Lavery, Morris and Hall, with Morris and Lavery involved in the build up to RCA’s fourth goal. Hawkins played the ball forward to Morris who sent in a cross which was only cleared as far as Lavery who whipped in a low cross which was smashed into the roof of the net by Penrith’s captain Moynan.

To their credit the young Penrith team didn’t stop working hard and trying to push forward but the RCA defence were looking to preserve their clean sheet.

Into the final 10 minutes of the game and RCA were awarded a corner on the left which was taken by Patton, his in-swinging corner looked to be comfortable for Taylor but the Penrith keeper dropped the ball at the feet of Charmey who stabbed the ball home from a foot out.

Chances for RCA came and went and the only hint of a response from Penrith was a long range effort from Hunter which went well wide of the goal.

This was a convincing win against a very young looking Penrith side. For the neutral an entertaining match.

We need to continue with the good form of the previous two weeks as we prepare to meet the top two sides in the division, Ashington in the league and Whickham in the FA Cup.

There was once again today a strong sense of a close knit team who were willing to work hard despite the heat everyone played their part in a terrific performance.

Next up we are away to Ashington on Tuesday, 16 August 2022, kick off 7.30pm.