Sunderland RCA fell to a second defeat in as many games as they were roundly bested by Tow Law Town at Meadow Park on Saturday afternoon.
The in-form Lawyers took the lead through Harvey Walsh on 18 minutes and quickly doubled their lead four minutes later.
Luke Richards rifled the hosts back into contention before the half hour mark before Owen Imeson thought he’d equalised, but the offside flag denied him.
Despite spirited spells either side of the interval, Brown’s second put Tow Law back in firm control before Dean Thexton put the result beyond doubt.
Mark Forrest made two changes from the side that played Boldon in midweek, with Dom Moan and Lewis Lukeman coming in for their first starts of the season.
It took Ryhope plenty of time to get going in this one, and their visitors were keen to make the most of their early control.
Tow Law’s first came through silky footwork from two of their star players. Thexton was the first to evade challenges with close control before Walsh let Moan’s challenge come across him before finishing beyond Lewis Charlton.
Keen to build on a dominant start, Tow Law compiled RCA’s misery on 22 minutes. The hosts failed to deal with the first phase of the attack, allowing Brown to make an overlapping run which cut RCA open. Brown took aim at the near post from close range and it was looking bleak midway through the half.
A glimmer of hope came soon after, however. An excellent switch from Lewis Lukeman saw Richards with an abundance of space on the right. The marauding full-back burst into the area before unleashing a fierce strike that brought life into not only the game, but RCA’s performance.
Confidence levels were clearly lifted as RCA looked to mimic their opponents’ ability to score twice in succession.
It was nearly all-square when Kyle Fryatt got his head to a deep cross from the right, but Dan Staples in the Tow Law goal was equal to it.
Many in the ground believed RCA had completed the comeback five minutes before half-time as Imeson got in-behind from Callum Guy’s through ball to slot in the corner. However, the offside flag was raised. It was an incredibly tight call, but RCA had to move on.
Forrest’s men started the second half much in the same vein in which they finished the first. Passing through the thirds was quick and full of intent, but a reluctance to take aim when the opportunity came proved to be the home side’s downfall.
Tow Law had threatening moments themselves, and Brown made a telling one count on 57 minutes. Evann Jardine lifted a lovely weighted ball over the top and the forward was quick to react before lashing into the net.
10 minutes later and it was all she wrote in Ryhope. It was another ball through the middle, this time from Kurt Matthews, that was RCA’s undoing and experienced striker Dean Thexton was never going to turn down the chance to provide a delicate lobbed finish to secure the win.
The rest of the half went by without incident, and RCA will have to pick themselves up, dust off, and regroup before a challenging away fixture against Chester-le-Street Town on Tuesday evening.
Sunderland RCA: L. Charlton, Richards, Patterson, Bennett, Fowler, Moan, Lukeman, Dodds (Thompson 76), Imeson (McGeorge 76), Guy, Fryatt (Ward 87).
Tow Law Town: Staples, Goldsborough (Burns 87), Small (Metcalfe 70), Matthews, Curl, Groves, Jardine (Bunton 69), Bennett (Chandler 49), Thexton, Brown, Walsh (Driver 76).
