There was a bit of a search for suitable pitches with the overnight freeze on Saturday but most of the Juniors teams were in action.
Under 8’s hosted Barnard Castle Tornado’s in the morning snow. All the efforts on goal were from Aycliffe early on with Rhys and Jayden going close but Barnard Castle made their effort count and went 1-0 ahead before half time.
Rhys had two free kicks saved before getting the equaliser and then Jayden quickly added the second to put Aycliffe in front. In an end to end game first Barnard Castle equalised and then Rhys put Aycliffe 3-2 ahead. Finally a superb volley from the Tornado’s number 9 finished the game in a 3-3 draw.
The second game saw Niall hit the post and Jayden’s shot being saved in the opening exchanges. Jake then made two good saves to keep the score 0-0 at half time. In to the second half and Niall set up a goal for Jake before scoring the second well himself. The 3-0 win was sealed when Niall again got forward and scored the game’s final goal, the mornings men of the match were Harvey and Niall.
Under 9’s were away to Leven and played in blizzard like conditions. Aycliffe found themselves two goals down early in the first half as the home team were on top. Lewis finished a good move involving Reece and Charlie to get a goal back in the second half. A few injuries saw the visitors needing to finish the game with six players and despite their brave efforts they could not get anything from the game. Lewis was man of the match on a day when it felt like all was against Aycliffe.
Under 10 TJFA fixture did not survive the sub-zero temperatures. However the Under 10 Russell Foster league team played their game against Durham County FC Colts in better conditions on Saturday. Their opponents set themselves up in a robust formation and were difficult to break down but Aycliffe got the first goal as Ted got on the end of a loose ball after good work from Noah. Durham equalised before half time and at the mid-point of the game it was 1-1. In the second half Taylor and Sam were dominant in midfield and it was Sam’s effort on goal that was saved with Bo on hand to tap in to regain the lead. Isaac added the third to seal a well-deserved 3-1 win with Sam as man of the match.
Under 11’s lost 5-2 playing away at Wynyard whilst the Under 12’s game did not survive the weather. The Under 14’s put in a great performance after a difficult game last week to earn great praise from manager Adam and a 4-1 win. They were facing Cleveland Juniors at Sunnydale with the visitors sitting pretty near in the top four of the league and it was Cleveland who got the first goal. Brilliant team play from the Aycliffe side in the rest of the first half though secured a 3-1 lead with Burrows scoring well first and then Hynes adding two good finishes. In the second half Stoker remained solid in goal and Pattinson added the fourth. Even a penalty miss did not dampen the spirits on a day when the whole team were named men of the match as all 16 players involved were fantastic.
Under 18’s Red went down 4-2 away at Ferryhill Town whilst the under 18 Blacks continued their fine goal scoring form in a 9-2 win against Stranton at a snowy Sunnydale. Valentines Day depleted the squad but the players available put on a great show and they stormed in to a 4-1 half time lead. The positive approach continued in the second half which saw Dagan and Scotty complete hat tricks, Pughy, Leevan and Teddy were also on the score sheet and Patrick Howe was man of the match.
Under 23’s played away at Wolviston on their 3G surface as the grass pitch was unplayable. A bright start led to a 2-0 lead with both goals from Martin who was only denied a first half hat trick by a wonder save from the home keeper. All the hard work was undone by half time as Wolviston scored twice to draw the game level. In the second half the hosts continued the stronger team and added two further goals with the game ending in a 4-2 loss for Aycliffe.
