Newton Aycliffe 1, Stocksbridge Park Steels 3
By Ryan Livingston
Newton Aycliffe lost their inaugural game in the FA Trophy on Saturday.
The Newtonians played their first ever fixture in the competition at home to fellow Northern Premier League East side Stocksbridge Park Steels, a team famous for producing the likes of Jamie Vardy and Scott Hogan, although they hadn’t won a game in this competition since 2016.
However, the Steels would be the first to find the net, courtesy of Jack Watson, Daniel Cameron initially with a brilliant save, but Steels Watson hit a rocket of a rebound into the net.
The game was played in blistering heat for the first half, and neither side had too many concrete chances barring the first goal.
Jake Petitjean was probably Aycliffe’s brightest spark, with two powerful shots that went straight into the gloves of Stocksbridge’s number one.
The second half had Aycliffe make it 1-1 at the 55th minute. After Stocksbridge’s keeper parried, Mckenzie Diccio found the ball in a scrappy box, to make it a first goal for Newton Aycliffe for the former Northallerton man.
Although parity didn’t last long, Luke Rawson for Stocksbridge got on the end of a corner to head home and make it 2-1 from close range.
Aycliffe had some skillful spells late in the game, but the away side’s defence was resolute, and challenges against the Stocksbridge keeper were sparse.
Daniel Cameron kept on making saves for Aycliffe, arguably keeping the score down by a decent amount.
It was end-to-end towards the game’s final minutes, but the final goal came the way of the away side, with Luke Rawson bagging his brace.
Aycliffe now have three home games in a row, with Ashington, Ossett United and Sheffield FC all paying a visit to Moore Lane before an away trip to Brighouse at the end of the month.
Fixtures:
Tuesday 12 September: Ashington (home)
Saturday 16 September: Ossett United (home)
Tuesday 26 September: Sheffield (home)
Saturday 30 September: Brighouse Town (away)
• The above picture, by Yvonne Wood, shows Aycliffe’s Jacob Mallinson taking on the Stocksbridge defence.
