Saturday 16th September 2017
Ebac Northern League Division One
Washington 2 v Newton Aycliffe 0
Newton Aycliffe’s poor run continued with a 2-0 loss at fellow strugglers Washington. Although Aycliffe started brightly with good possession early on the home keeper had little to trouble him all afternoon.
The home side gave a preview of what was to come after 15 minutes when a break down the left brought a cross but with no-one to meet it Aycliffe escaped.
Aycliffe responded and five minutes later Craig Hutchinson combined with Jack Oliver to set Kurt Matthews up but his shot was blocked by a defender
Washington always looked more dangerous on the break and Aycliffe had a let off on 23 minutes when Jordan Pickard fired over.
As is often the case Hutchinson’s running looked most likely to produce results for Aycliffe and just after the half hour he came close to a breakthrough when chasing a through ball however the keeper just got there first. Five minutes later Hutchinson had a shout for a penalty waved away when he appeared to be bundled over on the edge of the box. HT 0-0
The second half saw few chances for Aycliffe but Washington managed to take theirs. Both goals came from long range shots. The first on 73 minutes came when Aycliffe failed to clear, while the second was an excellent strike from former Aycliffe player Scott McArdle five minutes later. Aycliffe’s extensive injury list wasn’t helped late in the game when Hutchinson was forced to leave the field. Joint manager Danny Mellanby came on as substitute making his season debut, but was unable to turn the game round. FT 2-0
Another disappointing result for Aycliffe with only 1 win in 9. The team has little time to recover before North Shields’ visit on Tuesday 19th. With no game on Saturday 23rd. Aycliffe’s next game will then be a trip to Bishop Auckland on Wednesday 27th, another team who have had a poor start to the season.
