Newton Aycliffe 2, South Shields 1
Newton Aycliffe stunned newly promoted South Shields with a last minute winner at Moore Lane on Tuesday night.
Shields, boasting former Sunderland star Julio Arca among their ranks, were unable to hold on to the point that looked likely for much of the game.
Aycliffe got off the mark first thanks to a cool finish from Dennis Knight. The forward latched onto a throughball beating the defence and slotted the ball past Shields keeper Christopher Elliott.
Man of the Match Knight was outstanding throughout the game with his workrate causing problems for the visitors.
Shields equalised after 14 minutes with Gavin Cogden turning in a Michael Turner cross.
Before the break Aycliffe had a strong penalty appeal turned down after an apparent trip on Knight.
Shields pressed in the second half but the Aycliffe defence held well. In the end it was the Moore Lane faithful who had plenty to cheer. An Aycliffe corner in the last minute found Jordan Laidler who fired high into the net.
This was an excellent win over a well resourced Shields side, led by Arca, who are expected to do well in the Northern League this year.
Aycliffe are now on a run of consecutive home games which continues on Saturday 20 August against Jarrow Roofing (ko 3pm) followed by Dunston UTS on Tuesday 23 August (ko 7:30pm).
