Newton Aycliffe displayed their character to edge past Bedlington Terriers and move into the top 10 of the Northern League Division One.
Jamie Owens scored his second of the contest – his 24th of the campaign – with nine minutes remaining after the hosts had wiped out a two-goal deficit.
It was the Royal Blues’ third league win on the road and secured back-to-back victories for the first time since August.
Andrew Spence made his second debut in goal, after returning to the club from Sunderland RCA, but he was an onlooker as the Newtonians dominated the opening period.
The first half was a question of when, not if, Owens would break the deadlock. He saw an early free-kick saved and narrowly missed the target on a number of occasions as he and Danny Wilson proved too hot to handle for the Terriers’ defence.
But the pressure finally told just after the half-hour mark, as Owens received a Wilson pass, burst into the area and slotted home left-footed.
It was 2-0 in the 59th minute when Harrison Davies – who had himself gone close minutes earlier – saw his dangerous corner deflected into the net from a Bedlington defender.
However, the Terriers fought back to score twice in four minutes. Martin Brittain released Dylan Williamson, who beat Spence and then David Brown levelled matters.
It appeared as though Aycliffe had thrown away two points but Allan Oliver’s men rallied and went ahead five minutes after Brown’s equaliser. Wilson released his strike partner once again and Owens rounded the Terriers keeper and tapped into the net.
There was to be no response from the home side, and Owens went close to a treble while Wilson blazed over and Michael Gibson saw a late effort saved.
Aycliffe’s next assignment is the small matter of a trip to league-leaders and local rivals Shildon on Wednesday night.
