REPORT

DARLINGTON RA 3 REDCAR 1

Surprisingly the R.A.,who usually come out of the blocks quick, allowed Redcar to dictate the pace of the game which affected the juniors who could not put their passing game together, giving the ball away in crucial areas of the pitch. One of these straight passes let a Redcar forward in on goal who in turn slipped the ball passed the advancing "Teflon Andrews".

It stayed 1-0 to the visitors until the half-time break. During the interval the R.A. management team used all their experience to distil some calmness into a team that needed to relax and play the football they were capable of. A couple of seasons ago the same R.A. team would have panicked, but due to some good advice from "Coach Boyd" the juniors got the ball on the ground and really pressurized the Redcar goal with the ball rarely entering the R.A. half. The equalizer came when

Tom Watson prodded home from close range. The R.A. were now in the ascendancy and constantly camped in the Redcar half, this pressure paid off when a poor clearance from the Redcar keeper went straight to Stokes, who put Watson in on goal, striking the ball sweetly into the bottom of the net. Watson completed his hat-trick with a strike that would have graced any ground in the country, from twenty yards he hit a diagonal right foot volley up and over the Redcar keeper into the top corner of the net.

The R.A deserved the three points for their determination and application.