Redcar Athletic v Ryton and Crawcrook Albion

Hosts: Redcar Athletic FC

Venue: Green Lane, Redcar TS10 3RW

Kickoff: 3pm Saturday 29 September 2018
Competition: Ebac Northern League Division Two

Weather: sunny, dry, clear blue sky, breezy spells

LOCATION REPORT

SatNav: TS10 3RW
Parking: on-site car park, plus off-site street parking and rugby club next door (note: residential neighbourhood, restrictions apply)
Public transport: various buses along seafront to/from Marske (eg incl X4 to Boro)
Club information: Twitter

Entry: £5
Refreshments/Facilities: licensed clubhouse with bar and food (adjacent building)
Programmes: n/a

Stands/Terraces: small covered stand, seats for 52; lots of open standing* and lean-on barriers
(*temporarily restricted to two and a half sides, with rest barriered off during the renovation)

Floodlights: 6 (3 per flank)

MATCH REPORT 

League Official Record

Official crowd: 204

Full-time [h/t] score (colours):

3 [1] Redcar Athletic (red/blue)
1 [1] Ryton & Crawcrook Albion (yellow/blue)
Bookings: 2 Ryton
Sent Off: 0

NORVENMUNKI's COMMENTS

As it's been a lovely sunny late September day, upon arriving in the area, I decide to stroll along the beach towards Marske for a bit of fresh air and sunshine vitamins. The sands are pretty busy, with families enjoying the wide spaces and rippling rock pools. 

I'm back here again, following last season's trip as part of my previous Quest. The mighty Redcar got themselves promoted:  as did I. 
As a kind of self validation, I followed my own instructions to find this place again, and it was fine... so no excuses for getting lost, folks!

The car park is busy. Today the club are holding a Family Fun Day, so there are plenty of excited kids around and inflatables etc.
The pitch is full of youngsters having a training session, enjoying a kickabout with music wafting over from the 'inflatables' area.

I remember that last year they had a ground in works, with aspirations of upgrading the on-site facilities (rather than wandering through to the clubhouse next door). It's still in development, so they're not there yet, but it all looks neat and well-tended. 
AsI arrive, I'm surprised to find that you can't get around to the opposite side of the pitch, as it's all marked off with barriers. This seems a bit odd. 

Since my previous visit, there's now a new small covered stand, with seats for 52 in the club colours. 
I remember there was some rusty old groundskeeper's machinery that seems to have been removed now. 

As well as the location, there are also some familiar faces i recognise from last season (and from last week, when I watched them away in Bedlington). Also, there are a good handful of people down from Ryton too.

The sun is bright and the clouds are few, only a little westerly breeze blowing out to sea reminds you that it's almost October. 

Teams out. Handshakes. Game on.

After 18 minutes, the home side break the deadlock. A quick break down the right leads to an early cross to a Will Grigg lookalike #10 whose shot is parried by the diving keeper, falling  straight into the path of the oncoming #9 who calmly taps in: 1-0.

On 25 minutes, though, it's all square. A Redcar defender is pulling shirts in the box and the Ryton man goes down. Penalty. The guilt is unquestioned, with subdued protests. The taker sends the  keeper the wrong way with a finely taken spot-kick. 1 each. 

It's a niggly game. The ref has had a few words to both sides: there have been no cards yet but it feels inevitable. 
Numerous offsides break the flow, with the wind picking up to ruin several clever longball ideas. 

After 35 minutes, we finally see a card. A Ryton rightback pulls back the Redcar left-sided attacker. Yellow card. No complaints. 

Half time. All square. 

The Redcar kids teams come on for a penalty shootout during the break. It's a fun family atmosphere, with lots of happy little voices and photoshoots. 

I wander over to the other side of the pitch for the second half. The sun is in my eyes now, so I may change my mind later.

The game resumes. On 60 minutes, we get a free-kick to Redcar and a yellow for the Ryton centre-back, as he squeezed the Redcar attacker in a choreographed trap with a colleague. No argument. Still, the free-kick is wasted.

With half an hour still to play, it's evenly matched. The wind is really picking up now and the gusts are changing the pattern of play. You really need to keep it down to play on the deck. 

On 65 minutes, there's another for Redcar. Some neat passing releases their Will Grigg lookalike and he smashes into the corner: 2-1.
Soon after, Redcar sniff another, but with four men queuing for a promising cross, the chosen striker lashes his shot wildly high into the blue sky. 

Redcar have the momentum now and, with 75 minutes gone, it's 3-1. Intelligent passing through the Redcar midfield ends with a cool side-footed placed shot into the bottom corner from Will Grigg. 
The second half has been dominated by the home side, and the scoreline doesn't flatter them.

There's a final change for Ryton, now with all subs on, as they try to pull something back late on. 
Just when composure is needed, there's a moment of silliness: the Redcar centre forward wins a free-kick for a clumsy tackle then, as they jostle over picking up the ball, the Ryton rightback/captain takes a theatrical tumble, holding his face, to jeers from the local crowd. The referee has a long chat with them both. No card. A bit pathetic really. 

A visiting fan chats to the Redcar club official, complementing the picturesque location. I must concur. 

Game over. 

On the way home, I stop again for a dose of sea air on my face. A couple of jet skis are ploughing shapes into the blue carpet, and the wind is whipping the crests of each wave into a frothy spray. On the strand, dogs autograph the sand with sticks longer than themselves.
On the horizon, a container ship eases southward. 
All the while, the ranks of windmills spin in formation, like a choreography of long blades slicing into the crisp air. 

As my quest continues up the pyramid, I may not return again to Redcar for a while. Yet, both visits have been worth the trip and I'll take a shoeful of proud Cleveland sand in my footwell as a souvenir.