Scott McCarthy scored a late winner as North Shields progressed to the Quarter Final of the Northern League Cup; beating Ryton & Crawcrook Albion 3-2.
Kyle Patton scored with seconds remaining in the first half to give the hosts the lead heading into the break.
Ryan Carr then doubled the advantage midway through the second period, finishing off Nick Cassidy’s corner.
RACA thought they had taken the game to penalties, with substitute Sam Norris scoring a quick-fire double.
But McCarthy fired home a Cassidy freekick with minutes to spare, at a gusty Daren Persson Stadium, to maintain the Robins’ cup run.
Callum Smith almost got Shields off to a perfect in the second minute but after bursting into the box, his shot was blocked by Liam Barker before the ball awas eventually cleared behind for a corner.
Shields kept the pressure up and in the 13th minute, a long-range shot from Chris McDonald stung the palms of RACA keeper David Hansen.
The 22nd minute saw Smith once again threatening the Ryton defence. After being fed through on goal by McDonald, the former Dunston attacker tried to set up Patton, only for Callum Turnbull to deny him an opener.
Two minutes later, Ryton created their first chance on goal, with Jamie Dunn’s effort from outside the box comfortably saved by Greg Purvis.
In the 30th minute, Tyler Davis almost gave RACA the lead against the run of play, with a deep swinging freekick almost sneaking in at the far post.
But almost immediately, the hosts had a glorious chance of their own when an inviting ball from Paul Robinson was nodded the wrong side of the upright by Patton.
Shortly afterwards, Ryton defender David Below found himself charging into the Shields penalty area, only for his shot from the corner of the box to bobble safely into the hands of Purvis.
But just like what happened a few moment ago, Shields broke up the other end at speed, with Smith once again testing Hansen with a low shot.
With seconds until the half time whistle, the Robins finally had their breakthrough when a perfectly executed through ball from Robinson picked Smith out on the wing.
After cutting inside of his marker, Smith’s cross found Patton in the centre of the box, leaving the attacker to turn sharply and finish into the bottom corner.
Shields looked to start the second half brightly and in the 47th minute, after some great play from Adam Forster, Carr’s blocked shot deflected to Cassidy, with the fullback’s long range effort looping over the crossbar.
Ten minutes later, McDonald tried his luck from just outside the penalty area, finding Hansen once again equal to his well struck effort.
The Robins were enjoying plenty of possession but were struggling to break down the resolute RACA defence, with Hansen tipping Robinson’s long range goal over the crossbar.
However, in the 68th minute, Shields were finally able to double their lead when Carr was given far too much space to hammer home Cassidy’s menacing corner kick from the centre of the box.
Not long after, the Robins should have scored a third when a beautiful long ball from Forster gifted Patton all the space in the world to break into the RACA penalty area.
After the ball was centred to Smith, the former Dunston attacker took one touch before his powerful shot was somehow parried away by the recovering Ryton keeper.
The hosts were immediately made to pay for that miss as straight from the goal kick, one pass from midfield released substitute Norris clean through on goal.
Despite Purvis getting a heavy touch on his initial effort, the ball fell kindly to the former Ashington striker, allowing him to stroke his shot home to reduce the lead.
The only thing between the Robins and a third goal was the excellent form of Hansen, with the former Blyth Town keeper pulling off a fine save at his near post to deny Cassidy.
But once again, the hosts were caught napping and in the 83rd minute, Norris looked to have taken the game to penalties, with the striker converting an excellent pass from James Thompson.
Time was running out for the Robins as they looked to recover from losing a two-goal lead.
However, in the last minute of normal time, a freekick just over the half way line from Cassidy caught the Ryton defence out, allowing for substitute McCarthy to take a touch before hammering the ball into the roof of the net.
Shields could have even added a fourth with seconds remaining in the game, as Smith beat Jack Moody in a foot race to break away on goal, only for his looping effort to narrowly clear the crossbar.
Full Time: North Shields 3 Ryton & Crawcrook Albion 2
North Shields Starting Eleven: Greg Purvis, Nick Cassidy, Chris McDonald, Gary Ormston (David Hall 76), Paul New, Rhys Williams, Adam Forster (c), Paul Robinson (Scott McCarthy 83), Callum Smith, Ryan Carr (Cam Cunningham 69), Kyle Patton
Yellow Cards: N/A
Unused Substitutes: Wayne Buchanan, Scott Shepherd
Ryton & Crawcrook Albion Starting Eleven: David Hansen, David Below, Jack Moody, Joe Shepherd, Liam Barker, Callum Turnbull (Daniel Blewitt 68), James Thompson, Tyler Davis, Scott Jasper (c), Jamie Dunn (Sam Norris 68), Daniel Ord (Gavin Dick 59)
Yellow Cards: N/A
Unused Substitutes: Adam Dobson, Ryan Graham
