Esh Winning A-A RCA – Match Report

Sunderland RCA’s visit to Esh Winning was cut short on Saturday when floodlight failure saw the match abandoned at half-time with the scores level at 0-0.

The floodlight in the far corner of the pitch was off throughout the first half, and the referee decided it would be unwise to continue as the daylight dwindled.

Even if the lights were in order, the torrential rain at West Terrace was making an impact on the pitch and the game could very well have been abandoned regardless.

Mark Forrest and his management team made three changes to the side that progressed to the second round of the Ernest Armstrong 2nd Division Cup in midweek.

Ben Clark started up top following top-scorer Aiden Stanton’s move to division one side Easington Colliery, while starts were awarded to full-backs Luke Richards and Max Monaghan.

The conditions prevented either side from truly getting into a rhythm as chances were at a minimum.

RCA’s best chance came via Clark almost catching out Esh Winning’s Jack Halton as the goalkeeper looked to shield the ball out of play.

Clark got a toe to the ball and chased after it, but Halton recovered in time to gather and spare his blushes.

RCA were defending in the darker half of the pitch, providing a significant challenge for both Dom Moan and Jamie Harwood at the back.

Despite a couple of promising openings, the Stags failed to create anything clear cut.

Attempts were made by club officials to fix the faulty light during the interval, but to no avail.

The referee called the game off at half time and we await confirmation from the Northern League for the rearranged date.

It’s an extended break for the lads, then, as the next fixture is a repeat of the midweek outing against Park View AFC at Meadow Park on Tuesday 9th December, 7:30pm kick-off.

Esh Winning: Halton, Moore, Cherrie, O’Brien, Swift, Curl, Berhan, Swinburn, Ellis (Salim 36), Tones, Hart.

Sunderland RCA: Dryden, Richards, Monaghan, Moan, Harwood, Thompson, Dodds, Patterson, Clark, Guy, Lukeman.