Saturday, 25 April 2015
EBAC Northern League Division 1
Goalscorers: SRCA: Larkin (3): North Shields: None
Please click here for North Shields FC TV highlights of the match.
RCA welcomed FA Vase finalists North Shields to Meadow Park for the final game of the 2014 - 15 season and what a season it has been, two points after 10 games, a change of manager and 45 points from the remaining 32 games which bodes well for the future of this relatively young team.
For this match the management team brought back Carmichael in goal to replace Morris and Larkin returned after missing the last two matches through injury to replace RCA's leading goalscorer Hughes.
The match started brilliantly for RCA who showed their intent to compete for every ball from the off. They took the lead in the 3rd minute when a long ball from Davis looked to be overhit. Morton came to collect on the edge of the box but, under pressure from Larkin he fumbled the ball and Larkin was able to stab the ball into an empty net.
Within a minute it could have been 2-0 when Armstrong played a great ball into space and Callen latched onto the ball before cutting it back to Rowe who shot inches wide of the upright.
The "Robins" first real attack saw Lancaster pick up a loose ball on the half way line before setting off on an unopposed run until Preston intervened on the edge of the box, dispossesing the full back before he could get in a shot.
In the 12th minute, Davis burst forward before unleashing a terrific shot which struck Coppen in the face, the rebound came back to Davis who headed the ball into the path of Charlton, he cut inside the area before shooting wide of the far post.
Three minutes later and Morton made a mess of clearing a simple back pass on the edge of the area, the ballwent straight to Charlton who chipped the ball over the keeper, but it hit the foot of the post and rebounded into the arms of Morton.
A minute later and Holmes played in Carr from the right touchline, he slipped the ball forward to Forster who curled a delightful looking shot just wide of the RCA goal.
North Shields were being well held by the persistence of RCA who were willing to chase down every ball, there were no lost causes out on the pitch and the frustration of the Shields' players was evident in the amount of freekicks they were giving away.
RCA extended their lead in the 26th minute when Jury won a header in the centre of midfield and Callen picked up the ball, drove forward to the edge of the box before slipping the ball to Wood inside the area he played the ball past Elliott but the Shields defender's rash challenge up-end the RCA player and a penalty was awarded. Larkin stepped up and cooly slotted the ball home sending the keeper the wrong way.
Although they were kicking up the slope it was RCA who were having the best chances of the game and it was only some brilliant defending by Shields' defence and in particular the captain Kevin Hughes that kept the scoreline down.
However, a rampant RCA went further ahead in the 34th minute when Armstrong prevented the ball from going out for a throw in before delivering a beautifully weighted cross into the opposition's penalty area where Larkin rose magnificently to head home past the despairing dive of Morton.
It could have been worse for the "Robins" just before half time when once again they were guilty of overplaying at the back and Callen was able to nip in before hitting a shot which was blocked by Hughes..
As expected Shields came out for the second half with all guns blazing and in the opening minute Morris raced clear of the RCA defence but his shot cum cross was half blocked by Preston and went right across the face of goal and out for a corner. The resulting corner was met by Bainbridge but his header was blocked by Armstrong, the ball rebounded to Bainbridge who fired in a shot which Carmichael got a hand to, deflecting it onto the bar and Carr could only manage to prod the ball over the bar from inside the six yard area.
Having weathered the early storm from North Shields, RCA started to play some good passing football while North Shields resorted to a long ball game which really didn't suit them and RCA's defence was well capable of dealing with.
For long periods in the second half the game became scrappy as both teams were guilty of misplaced passes, Larkin almost made it 4-0 when ahe pounced on a slip by Forster, sprinted forward, stepped inside the last defender before shooting, but this time Morton produced a brilliant one handed save to deny the RCA striker.
In the 75th minute Larkin was once again in the thick of the action as he picked up a through ball from Wood before shooting low, Hughes blocked the shot and Morton was able to save at the feet of the advancing Rowe.
At the other end two minutes later and Richardson crossed into the box where Forster met the ball with a deft header which found its way to the far post where Holmes had ghosted in but he could only direst his shot high over the bar.
As the game entered the final five minutes Larkin produced another fine save from Morton, when he headed a cross from Charlton goalward and the Shields keeper saved at the second attempt.
In the final minute of the game Shields almost got a consolation goal when Holmes broke clear of the RCA defence before firing narrowly wide of the upright.
The final whistle blew to end a long hard season, but we ended on a massive high. The performance in the first half was outstanding with everyone contributing to a great game. Without over extending ourselves in the second half we still created the better chances.
Some would say that this was not a full strength North Shields team, I would say that you can only play the 11 men on the pitch. Certainly their manager wasn't very happy for most of the game.
Roll on next season, as we always say "the hard work starts now."