Newton Aycliffe 1, Carlton Town 3
By Ryan Livingston
Newton Aycliffe fell to defeat in their game against fellow play-off chasing side Carlton Town on Saturday.
Just one place separated the two sides beforehand, with Carlton having the advantage of several games in hand.
Carlton showed intent from the off. While Lewis Durow’s cross looked as if it was initially going wide, Niall Hylton found the ball and jinked past Toby Pascoe to finish well at a tight angle into the top corner in the fifth minute
The entire game, and in particular the first half, was played at an incredibly slow pace as Carlton seemed more than happy to sit back with their lead.
It took 22 minutes for Aycliffe to have their first notable chance. Liam Jarvie broke away and almost got one-on-one with Felix Annan, however, Daniel Brown intercepted.
Aycliffe conceded their second on 32 minutes. Alex Tempest received the ball on the edge of the box and found Niall Davie who fired a strong shot past everyone in the box to make it 2-0.
Aycliffe won a promising corner, but Annan stood firm and saved it off the line in a crowded box.
Carlton could have sealed it on the stroke of half time when Manneh’s cross found the head of Nathan Watson, but Watson headed it narrowly wide.
In the second half Kyle Davis came close to scoring, but his shot went wide after he collided with Annan and a free kick to Carlton was given.
Shortly after at the other end of the pitch, Manneh passed to Watson who was in a great position to shoot and he wasted no time in firing it past James Winter to make it 3-0 in the 54th minute.
Aycliffe did find the net courtesy of a Liam Jarvie close range toe-poke finish in a crowded box, but it was swiftly flagged for offside.
The next chance came when Liam Adamson’s shot deflected off Annan and into the feet of Cieran Jackson, but all he could do was fire it high over the bar.
A consolation goal would come, however, when Jarvie broke through yet again and fired a powerful shot into Annan who could only chest the ball back to the feet of Jarvie who scored from the rebound.
But the score remained 3-1 and Aycliffe lost at home for the first time since January, and only the second time this year.
Aycliffe’s first NPL season concludes on Saturday, April 27, with a home game against Pontefract Collieries.
• The above picture, by Yvonne Wood, shows centre back Dale Elgie in action against Carlton Town.
