Max Allen blocks a goal bound effort during the second half of the match.
Northallerton Town were the visitors for this Ebac Northern League Division 1 clash. After a shaky start to the season they have amassed seven points from their last five games and moved away from the relegation zone, although it remains tight with only five points separating the bottom five teams.
A difficult day last week at Pickering saw three players red carded and despite a spirited final 10 minutes we were unable to get an equaliser.
It will be said many times in dressing rooms in the Northern League that it is difficult enough to win a game with 11 men never mind with 10 or less. Every game in this league is competitive.
So to today’s game missing four players through suspension, two with injuries and two with work commitments it was very much a matter of who was fit enough to play. We welcomed back Daniel Hawkins after a long term injury.
The teams lined up as follows:
Sunderland RCA: Marrs, Nelson, Lavery, Allen, Hawkins, Charlton ©, Ene, Bennett, Annang-Colquhoun, Fryatt, Lawrence. Subs, Richards, Davison, Jobling, Ezard.
Northallerton Town: Hassall, Snook, Hope, Ryder, Graham, Cocks, Stapley, Stephenson ©, Shepherd, Howard, Waters. Subs: Chidanyika, Lancaster, Parker, Rae, Jones.
Once again RCA started the game well and almost took an early lead when a through ball from Charlton found Bennett who fired in a shot which was well saved by Hassall palming it out for a corner; Charlton took the kick which was headed out for a second corner by Graham. This time the corner was low and flicked into the box by Bennett but as Lavery tried an overhead kick the ball struck his hand.
Within a minute a tricky run by Ene to find space on the right and he delivered a good cross to the far post to Annang-Colquhoun who headed it into the path of Lawrence who struck a low half volley straight at Hassall.
The home team took the lead on nine minutes with well worked move. A good ball forward by Lavery was collected by Bennett who played the ball square to Fryatt who sent a delightful pass between two defenders into the path of Annang-Colquhoun who slotted home from inside the six yard box.
Northallerton responded with an attack down the right, a long ball forward was picked up by Stapley who slid the ball past Marrs but the flag was up for offside.
The visitors equalised in the 17th minute, a shot from Shepherd was headed off the line by Charlton, with everyone thinking it was going out for a corner, Howard reacted quickly and clipped the ball back into the box for Waters to head home unopposed.
RCA looked deflated after this set-back and the visitors took advantage with Stapley running riot on the right. Another cross in from him and Stephenson should have scored but scooped his shot over the bar.
A minute later and Stapley crossed to the far post again and Hope rose unopposed to head towards goal but Marrs pulled off a terrific save to keep the scores level.
On the half hour mark Lavery took a throw in to Fryatt who, spotting Hassall was off his line tried a speculative shot from 35 yards out which went a yard wide of the post.
Another ball over the top by Ryder had the RCA defence back peddling, Sheppard controlled the ball before being tackled by Hawkins and the Northallerton player fell to the ground. The referee issued a straight red to Hawkins for denying a goal scoring opportunity.
Down to 10 men again and an uphill battle against a side buoyed by having equalised and looking on top.
RCA reshuffled to accommodate the dismissal and Northallerton took full advantage of the extra man playing the ball across the park forcing the RCA players to expend energy.
It was not a surprise when they took the lead in the 39th minute although the circumstances were a little bizarre. An innocuous ball into the box looked to be being dealt with only to spin away from the RCA defence and into the path of Waters who slid the ball across the face of goal where Shepherd dove forward to chest home from a foot out. The RCA protests for a hand ball were waved away and the visitors were 2-1 up.
Northallerton attacking the Cemetery end in the second half started brilliantly as they poured forward, an early attack saw the ball played forward to Stephenson who struck his effort over the bar.
A minute later and Waters broke down the left crossing in to the box for Stapley but Allen was on hand to clear but the ball fell to Shepherd who shot wide from a promising position.
They didn’t have long to wait to increase their lead. In the 49th minute, a good run forward by Hope saw him out pace his marker before playing the ball into the box for Shepherd who had the easiest of tap ins from inside the six yard box.
Little was going right for RCA and when they did eventually start to pass the ball about they created a number of openings. A free kick by Charlton was headed down by Annang-Colquhoun into the path of Ene but his shot was easily saved by Hassall.
A few minutes later and RCA started to press forward down the slope, another freekick on the right and Charlton again swung the ball towards Annang-Colquhoun but his header, although on target, lacked power and Hassall again saved easily.
Northallerton were defending stoutly but in the process were committing a number of fouls in dangerous areas but RCA were unable to take full advantage of their late possession in these area with Ene probably having the best chance in the 80th minute when he latched onto a loose ball on the edge of the box but his curling shot was well saved by Hassall.
Inside the final minutes, with Northallerton running the clock down, RCA had a half shout for a penalty when a great ball forward by Fryatt into the path of Ene was defended by Cocks who looked to be pulling Ene back but the referee waved the protests away.
A third defeat in a row is a blow to the RCA team who had played so well against Bishop Auckland only two weeks ago. As the manager has said, “It’s hard to win in this league without a full team on the park”. The last three defeats have seen that to full effect with five dismissals in those matches, two of which we were ahead in.
It is easy to say that the dismissals in some cases were not justified but at the end of the day it is always down to self discipline.
We need to get back to playing the way that we know we can play and not let the decisions that go against us affect the way we play.
We go again next week away to Guisborough Town on Saturday, 5th November 2022: kick off 3.00pm.
I for one am looking forward to a game of football without the fireworks.