About Me

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Ryhope, Sunderland, County Durham, United Kingdom
I am a Northern League supporter without a club to favour and double as a sometime genealogist who has researched his family tree back to the early 1600's, compiling a file of individual relatives totalling just over 3,000 names. I have been happily married to Maureen for 53 years. We have 1 son, 3 daughters, 14 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren, and absolutely no money!

Sunday 27 September 2009

Saturday 26/09/09 Sunderland Ryhope CA 3-0 Whickham

Northern League Division 2
Meadow Park
Ryhope
Sunderland
Co. Durham.

This has been described elsewhere as "men against boys" and I could not agree more. RCA, top of the division having won 8 and drawn 1 of their 9 fixtures to date, fielded a possibly weaker side than usual due to injuries, but still had more than enough to cope with Whickham's depleted young side. Special mention goes to young Scott Cresswell in the Whickham goal, who did his best to keep his side in the game.
RCA took the lead after 15 minutes when a surging run by Scott Richards left the Whickham defence in disarray, his cross found Liam McBryde at the far post and he headed goalwards, Steve Stewart made sure nipping in to head home from close range. RCA had the ball in the net when McBryde rose high above Gary Andison and headed home only for the linesman to flag for an infringement.
Late in the half a lovely cross from Stewart found Harrison Davies inside the six yard box, but he could only guide the ball onto the bar and into the waiting arms of Cresswell and a minute later the same player shot across the face of goal. McBryde had another goal disallowed when he ghosted in at the back post to score from a well taken corner. The referee awarded a freekick for a foul on the keeper. However, on the hour mark McBryde got the goal that his efforts deserved when he latched onto a pass from Stewart and although Cresswell saved the first shot he followed up and slide the ball home. Within a minute RCA were 3 - 0 up when Richards hit an unstoppable 25 yard screamer which the goalkeeper never saw.
Only some brilliant saves from Cresswell kept the score at 3 - 0, firstly a point blank save from Shields and then he saved with his feet from Stewart.

Saturday 19 September 2009

Easington Colliery 0-1 Shildon

FA Vase
Second Round Qualifying

Easington Welfare Park
Memorial Road
Easington
Co. Durham.

My first visit to Easington in nearly 44 years and I really enjoyed it. Wearside League outfit Easington battled well to keep a strong Shildon side at bay, to the point of causing a few problems for the Shildon defence towards the end of the game. A well-taken free kick from the edge of the penalty area by Andrew Johnson, well into time added on at the end, was the deciding factor. A Shildon shot which went out for a goal-kick after hitting a post after 28 seconds, could have signalled a rout.

Wednesday 16 September 2009

Sunderland Ryhope CA 0-0 Crook Town

Northern League Division 2
Meadow Park
Ryhope
Sunderland
Co. Durham.

Sunderland RCA lost their 100% league record to a very good Crook Town team who more than matched them in a very competitive 0-0 draw at Meadow Park.
How often have you heard it said that 0-0 draws were predictable? Well when these two teams met they had scored 45 goals between them so a no score draw was probably the most unpredictable score line imaginable.
The game started with Crook forcing the pace and a shot from Kokes going wide. It didn’t take long for RCA to respond and it was Davison who produced a cracking shot which was well saved by Lanning.
In the 18th minute Crook looked to have taken the lead when a cross into the box was met by Olusoga who scrambled it home, but he was adjudged to be offside. Crook were piling on the pressure and gained two corners in quick succession; however they were well dealt with by RCA defence.
In the 37th minute RCA were awarded a freekick on the edge of the box and Coghlan passed the ball to Davies who crossed into the box only for Lanning to get to the ball just before the head of Davison.Two minutes later and another Coghlan freekick went inches wide with the keeper beaten.
In the 42nd minute Taylor tried an audacious shot from 25 yards which rattled off the crossbar and was cleared by Hall.
The second half saw Crook well on top in the opening 10 minutes with Kokes going close with a snap shot and Hall heading against the crossbar. The two forwards were causing all sorts of problems and only some superb defending by Wardle and Anderson kept them at bay.
In the 70th minute a corner was awarded to Crook and when the ball was delivered into the box Hall powered a header downward into the bottom corner. Somehow Mclean got a hand to the ball and turned it over the bar. A great save to keep RCA in the game.
The introduction of Richards to the midfield added something to RCA as an attacking force and they came into the game a little more. Coghlan sent another freekick inches wide and when Davis crossed to the far post Taylor was on hand to volley the ball home only to be flagged for offside.
Both teams continued to attack and to try to win the game and as the match reached its conclusion a flare up between a number of players resulted in the dismissal of Davis.
RCA will probably not face a sterner test than this one and they came through with their unbeaten league form intact. Crook will be disappointed that they did not convert at least one of their chances.

Report by Rob Jones at http://www.sunderlandrca.co.uk

Saturday 12 September 2009

Behind

I must get down to adding the match reports which are missing from the last few weeks. Just not had a lot of time recently.

Billingham Town 1-5 Consett

Northern League Division 1
Rowney Ltd. Arena
Bedford Terrace
Billingham
Cleveland.

Saturday 5 September 2009

Esh Winning 2-4 Bedlington Terriers

FA Vase First Round Qualifying
West Terrace
Waterhouses
Co. Durham.

Report By Dave Anderson at http://www.bedlingtonterriersfc.co.uk

Bedlington Terriers advanced to the next qualifying round of the FA Vase at Esh Winning on Saturday, with a 4-2 victory orchestrated by debutant David Southern, who was involved in all the Terriers goals. Signed a week earlier from local rivals Morpeth Town, but unavailable due to injury until this tie, Southern showed exactly the type of qualities that made Bedlington so keen to secure his signature. Top League scorer in the season Gateshead won promotion from the Unibond Premier Division; he is a player of undoubted qualities and is sure to have a major impact in the coming months.Looking to bounce back from the disappointments of their FA Cup exit the previous Saturday, and failure to secure the points at Ashington in the Bank Holiday derby, co-managers Lowery and Perry named a very strong starting eleven for this encounter at Esh’s picturesque Waterhouses location. This meant a debut for the other signing made by Bedlington, in vastly experienced midfielder Stuart Elliott. On the books of Arsenal as a schoolboy, Elliott spent five years at Newcastle, including time captaining the Reserve team and loan moves to seven other Football League clubs. Spells at Darlington, Plymouth and Carlisle followed before he dropped down into non-league, where he has significant experience in the high-echelons of the semi-professional game. Still only 32 years of age, the signing of Elliott is a real coup for Bedlington, and a signal of their intent to be challenging for honours again. Bedlington attacked from the whistle, with Poole’s 25 yard drive forcing Esh keeper Molyneux into a save within 3 minutes. And the concerted pressure paid dividends for the visitors as they took the lead after just ten minutes of play. Poole again was involved, playing Shaw through and the midfielder knocked the ball past his marker only for Molyneux to advance quickly from his goal. Although the keeper blocked Shaw’s toe poke, Southern was first to react to the loose ball to slot home into an empty net from 12 yards. The Terriers should have doubled their advantage within a minute. Good work from Christensen down the right saw the wing back hit a low cross to the near post which Graham contrived to miss completely and spurn an easy tap in from 3 yards. The visitors paid for this miss as the home side equalised on the quarter hour mark, with Coates latching on to a cross from Smith and then rounding Newton in the Bedlington goal before firing home. Bedlington continued to attack, as Shandran made progress along the edge of the Esh area before feeding Southern. He turned his man quickly and fired a low shot which Molyneux collected at the second attempt. The lead was restored just after the midway point in the half, and it was the goal of the season so far by anyone in a Bedlington shirt. The ball was fed into Southern, back to goal, and his simple lay off to Graham saw the skilful midfielder unleash a shot from 30 yards which was still rising as it flew into the top left corner. Even the home fans were forced to appreciate the quality of the strike.
The only black mark in the remainder of the opening period was a yellow card for new boy Elliott, after a couple of unsightly lunges. Another referee may not have been so lenient, and so a caution was gratefully accepted by the Bedlington contingent. Bedlington made a change for the start of the second half, with skipper Snowden struggling with injury, and having to be replaced by Ludlow as Lowery and Perry changed things around.
Bedlington extended their lead within 9 minutes of the restart, and again Southern had a hand in the goal. Picking up the ball in his own half, Southern made 30 yards progress before spreading the ball left to Shandran. He cut into the area, working it on to his right foot before curling his effort into the bottom right hand corner of the goal.
If Bedlington thought it was game over, then the home side had other ideas as they pushed to get back into the game. They were soon rewarded when they reduced the deficit on the hour mark, albeit in a slightly fortunate manner. When Martin was fed possession by Fort, the Esh striker saw his low shot from 20 yards take wicked deflection of the leg of Hedley, as a result squeezing inside the post past the wrong-footed Newton.The Terriers should have restored their two goal cushion within a minute, but Graham’s header from Ludlow’s brilliantly dug out cross pounded the pitch before bouncing high against the bar and away to safety. Although the hosts were putting the Bedlington defence under increasing pressure, they rarely actually fashioned a genuine goal scoring opportunity. Bedlington, however, looked dangerous every time they mounted an attack.
Banks almost fired into his own goal from a Ludlow cross, then Shandran saw his headed from Southern’s cross defected just wide, even though a goal kick was subsequently awarded. Into the final ten minutes, the Terriers made their remaining substitutions, with Shandran and Graham being replaced by McRoberts and McAlindon respectively.
The visitors finally put the game beyond reach with four minutes left, and appropriately it was Southern who capped off a man of the match performance with the goal. Christensen made progress down the right, and his cross from the goal line evaded all in the middle, allowing Southern to work on to his right foot and curl his effort into the bottom right corner in a finish very similar to his striker partner’s goal earlier in the half. So a satisfying result for the Terriers, and one which booked them a home tie against Jarrow Roofing in the next round of the competition on Saturday 19th September.

Wednesday 2 September 2009

Guisborough Town 1-0 Wakefield

FA Cup Preliminary Round Replay
King George V Stadium
Howlbeck Road
Guisborough
N. Yorks.