Jarrow Roofing 2, Newton Aycliffe 2
By Dave Strickland
Newton Aycliffe travelled to Jarrow Roofing and came away with a 2-2 draw on Saturday.
They started nervously, but came back and should have won, missing several chances and conceding two soft goals.
Roofing took an early lead when centre half Andrew Grant-Soulsby missed a through pass; Knight got through the middle and slipped the ball past Winter.
This unsettled Aycliffe, and within a minute they Roofing had another chance, but Winter made a fine save.
On three minutes, Roofing hit the post from distance. Aycliffe started to settle and play their football.
On 18 minutes, Grant-Soulsby headed a good chance over from a free kick. Then Jordan Jewson got through and put in a dangerous cross which Roofing put out for a corner.
Craig Hutchinson came on for Jewson on 40 minutes and within a minute he had a great chance one-on-one with the keeper, but put his shot wide.
However, with a minute he made amends when he latched onto a knock-down in the box and shot past home keeper Regan for the equaliser.
Two minutes into the second half, Stuart Banks dribbled through the back line, but Regan made a sharp save.
Then Matty Pennal got through one-on-one, but he too couldn’t beat the keeper.
Thibault Charmey came on for Pennal on the hour, was soon in the action. He got a shot away, which Roofing somehow managed to scramble away.
Aycliffe were dominating the second half, with Kurt Matthews and man-of-the-match Hutchinson tormenting the Roofing defence.
They got their reward when a pass into the box found Charmey after a good move down the right. His first shot was saved, but he put the rebound away to give Aycliffe the lead.
It looked like they would hold on, but in the first minute of injury time, Roofing won a dubious penalty. Campbell stepped up to score, and earn Roofing the draw.
The result leaves Aycliffe 16th in the Ebac Northern League first division table with four home games to play.
Next up is Seaham Red Star this evening (Monday April 23, 7.30pm kick-off) – the first of four consecutive home games to round off the 2017-18 season, followed by Whitley Bay on Thursday night, Consett on Saturday and Sunderland RCA on Wednesday May 2.
