Jordan Lavery drives at the Darlington RA defence.
The Durham County FA Challenge Cup paired us with Darlington RA from the Wearside League and we welcomed them to Sunderland LGV Park for their first visit since their relegation from Northern league Division 1 in 2007.
The management team rested a number of players for this match giving other players much needed game time. Into the starting lineup came Ezard, Richards, Lavery, Best, Charmey, and Davison. There were also places on the bench for Trewick and Ene.
The teams lined up as follows:
Sunderland RCA: Ezard, Richards, Lavery, Nelson, Jakab, Best, Morris, Charmey, Davison (c), Fryatt, Bennett. Subs: Trewick, Annang-Colquhoun, Ene, Moan, Lawrence.
Darlington RA: Dickinson, Craggs, Hastie, Pattison, Gann, Jackson, Charlton, Soakell, Frears, Scott, Howell. Subs: Chaman, Hetherington, Brown.
The players took to the field on a mild October evening with conditions underfoot ideal for playing football. The hard work by the grounds men over the last few months and beyond has certainly paid off with so many positive comments made by both players and supporters alike.
What a start by the visitors scoring in the fourth minute in somewhat controversial fashion. A good ball over the RCA defence saw the assistant referee raise his flag for offside against Frears in the centre of the pitch, the ball fell to Charlton on the right and the referee over-ruled the assistant’s decision which allowed the RA forward to go on unopposed to fire past a bewildered Ezard.
Rocked by this early set back RCA set about repairing the damage playing some good possession football until the ball was eventually released to Morris whose cross was diverted out for a corner. Morris curled the kick into the box where Davison, returning from injury, rose to glace a header into the far corner of the net.
RCA took the lead four minutes later when Best threaded a ball through to Charmey he hit a low shot which rebounded off the post and Davison was on hand to smash the ball into the roof of the net.
The home side settled into their passing game making the visitors work hard to regain possession. When they did they were playing a more direct style of football trying to play the ball wide and get early crosses into the box. However both Jakab and Nelson were able to deal effectively with all the crosses into the box.
The next real threat of the half came when Bennett played a through ball beyond the RA defence and into the path of Fryatt who took too much time controlling the ball and Dickinson was able to save the shot and Soakell cleared the ball.
Two minutes later as the RCA pressure mounted. A good run by Morris on the right saw him drift beyond his marker before playing the ball into the box but Davison fired wide.
A minute later and a Charmey cross into the box was headed away for a corner, Lavery curled the ball into the box where Jakab headed down and although Dickinson scooped the ball away the Assistant on the far side waved for a goal indicating that it had crossed the line.
Incensed by the decision to award a goal, the visitors mounted a prolonged attack on the RCA goal, and it took a terrific goal line clearance by Jakab to deny Frears a goal after the RA striker had picked up a ball inside the area and fired a low shot past Ezard.
RCA, having withstood five minutes of pressure, regrouped and forced RA back into their own half. Richards combined with Morris on the right to set up chance for Charmey but his effort was blocked and RCA went into the break with a 3-1 lead.
At half-time, RCA brought on Trewick for his debut, replacing Nelson in the heart of the defence.
Kicking towards the Beechbrooke end of the ground and with the advantage of the slope RCA took control of the opening period of the second half, Charmey should have done better than curl the ball over the bar from 10 yards out after Best had played a great ball into the area.
Fryatt was replaced by Ene who was immediately in the action dribbling inside his marker before being fouled; Lavery took the freekick which was headed down by Davison to Morris who produced a great reaction point blank save from Dickinson.
Ene was causing problems for the RA defence with his direct approach to the game, picking up a crossfield ball from Best, Ene cut inside before unleashing a low shot which was blocked by Gann for a corner.
It was almost all one way traffic now, another through ball from Best found Morris on the edge of the box but his shot went high over the bar.
RCA extended their lead in the 70th minute when a Morris corner was headed home by Jakab, no dispute about this one.
Five minutes later and RCA made it 5-1, a good run by Morris on the right to the bye-line, he cut the ball back and although it was partially cleared by Gann the ball fell to Davison on the edge of the box and he stroked the ball into the roof of the net for his hat-trick.
The visitors continued to try and play out from the back but the longer the game went on the harder it was becoming to get the ball into the RCA half of the pitch.
Another foul on Ene on the right, Lavery took the freekick which was met by Ene but his header went over the bar.
Inside the final 10 minutes and a ball into the area by Trewick was hooked towards goal by Ene, Dickinson parried the shot which was picked up by Bennett who was fouled inside the box and the referee awarded a penalty. Bennett took responsibility and calmly slotted the ball into the net.
The Ene show continued up until the final minute, a weaving run by the substitute took him past two defenders before he released the ball to Morris who played it back into his path but leaning back he hooked the ball wide of the target.
The final score of 6-1 was probably a fair reflection of the game overall. Highlights were obviously the return of “Sparky” and his unerring knack of knowing where the goal is. Also a 40 minute run out for Robert Ene who showed some good touches and with a bit of work on his team play and temperament could turn into a decent Northern league player, he still has a lot to learn.
Next up is the return of the Bishops as we take on the league leaders Bishop Auckland at home on Saturday, 15 October 2022, Kick off 3.00pm.