Sunderland RCA v Newcastle Benfield

Hosts: Sunderland RCA Football Club

Venue: Sunderland LGV Park (aka Meadow Park), Beechbrooke, Ryhope, Tyne & Wear SR2 0NZ

LOCATION REPORT

SatNav: SR2 0NZ (within housing estate)
Parking: small onsite car park with 30 marked spaces; on-street parking in neighbouring streets (Note: be respectful of residents) 

Public transport: bus #9 (Hebburn-Murton), #22 (Durham or Peterlee-Sunderland), #60 (Parkside-Sunderland)

Entry: adults £6, concessions £4 under-16s free
Programmes: £1

Refreshments: "Defty's Diner" (eg £2 hotdogs, £1 hot/cold drinks)
Licensed: "Defty's Diner" bar
Toilets: ladies in bar, gents pitchside
PA system: yes, but very weak (eg inaudible in stand)

Covered seating:

(S) Baines Stand = c190 seated, 5 tiers; wooden benches, red

Covered standing:

(SW) pitchside terrace = stepped, c50 standing, 3 tiers
Open seating:
(SE) 2 x picnic benches outside Diner = 12 seated
Open standing:

(all sides) concrete hardstanding & lean-on barriers; grassed outfield

Floodlights: 8 (4 per flank)

MATCH REPORT

Kickoff: 3:00pm Saturday 31 August 2019
Competition: Ebac Northern League Division One
Weather: warmish, dry, sunny/clear, breezy

Final [h/t] score (team colours):
3 [1] Sunderland RCA (red/white stripes, black shorts)
2 [0] Newcastle Benfield (black/white striped pattern, white shorts)

Sent Off: 0

Official crowd: ???

Official Northern League Report

Social media [Twitter]: @theofficialnl, @SunderlandRCA, @NcleBenfield

NORVENMUNKI's COMMENTS

It's Sunderland v Newcastle today. RCA originally stood for Ryhope Community Association but they added Sunderland to their name in recent times. Benfield are usually referred to as such colloquially, but they too added their host-city to their full name.

We arrive around twenty minutes before kickoff, and the car park is too busy already. We find a roadside spot in the neighbouring housing estate, making sure it's not outside someone's house. It seems like a few others have done likewise, always respectful of the residents.

We get a friendly welcome at the gate, picking up a programme for the day.



On-site, Denty's Diner bar is snug. It's warmish today, so a couple of cool cans of cola from the fridge are very refreshing: today is not really a hot chocolate day. The guys at Denty's are friendly. There's sport on TV but nobody is really watching it.

It's a nice atmosphere around the place. The crowd is low, with kids and grandparents everywhere, and there's at least five little well-behaved dogs on leads.

The pitch has a clear but graceful slope down to the eastern end, and the breeze is blowing the same way. This may prove an advantage to someone later?

There's a cemetery next door, to the southwest side and an open field alongside to the north edge.

The PA system is mostly silent, but kicks-in with some short mumbles at times. Unfortunately, when you're sitting in the stand, you can't really hear anything at all.

The teams are out into the sunshine. Handshakes. Game on. Both the keepers are decked-out in lime-green kits.

There's early progress for RCA. A clumsy bundle in the box: penalty. The spot-kick goes low to the keeper's left: 1-0.
The away fans around me chunner about the referee, but there's not a single word against her from the Benfield players, which is usually a good indicator of perceived justice.

The wind is blowing westerly, out to sea, favouring the visitors in the first half; but they're behind and not taking advantage.

We grab some hotdogs from Denty's just before the half-time rush. My daughter declares it "really nice".

There's a faint mumble on the PA system, which presumably is the declaration of how many added first-half minutes are now underway?
Half-time arrives: 1-0.

The second half is much like the first, typified by good battles in midfield and dashes of crafty passing. Both sides are being positive, with RCA just about shading it although very hard to call.

Not long after the hour mark, it's 1-1. A Benfield striker breaks away on a counterattack, keeps his cool as he evades multiple tackles, and plants a shot beyond the keeper into the empty corner. Natural balance suggests it's a deserved equaliser; now it's really game-on.

Merely a couple of minutes later, there's a break down the red left, as the winger twists back onto his right foot and curls a cross into the away box. It's headed out as far as a wave of waiting red midfielders on the edge of the area, one of whom thumps a volley beyond the flailing keeper. It's a great strike! Home advantage restored: 2-1.

As the final minutes ebb away, a Benfield striker goes over in the RCA box. A foul seems harsh to me but without the benefit of VAR, the referee's decision is final. The RCA centre-half vents his anger and earns a yellow for his trouble.
The penalty is thundered into the corner, a great spot-kick. 2-2!

Somewhat understandably, the RCA bench are livid and can't stop complaining. The ref has to go across and after some heated debate their coach gets a yellow card too!

All to play for in the dying moments. An RCA attack sees their industrious right midfielder tussle with a crowd of defenders, slip, win the ball back, slip again, win the ball off the struggling keeper, turn it to his colleague, who slots in the the edge of the six-yard box: 3-2!

Even deep into the final seconds, we have action. A counterattack from Benfield sees their quick-thinking forward try to lob the RCA keeper from distance... but agonisingly it bounces off the crossbar!

And that's how it ends: 3-2.

Lots of late drama, plenty of passion and endeavour. The ref has had a busy match and done her best to keep 22 men on the pitch. The visitors will be annoyed given they could have snatched a point at the death, but the home side will thank their luck a bit.

We go off to the car, ushered along by the blustering wind whistling through the houses like a wind tunnel, and make for the journey home. Nice day all round.