Aycliffe travelled to 5th placed North Shields and came away with a valuable point. The match was played in driving wind and rain. To their credit, both teams tried to play good football in the conditions. There were no real chances in the opening 25 minutes as both sides tried to get the upper hand. Aycliffe broke the deadlock when Kurt Matthews finished a good team move with a low shot into the corner of the net.
The lead only lasted a minute as Shields equalised when a low shot from McFarlane beat James Winter. Half time 1-1. Aycliffe went close on 52 minutes when Ben Trotter hit a long range shot just over the bar. Three minutes later Winter pulled off a fantastic double save for Aycliffe, which even the Shields fans applauded.
On 58 minutes Shields failed to clear a Paul Weldon free kick and Aycliffe man-of-the-match Marc Costello lashed the ball home. Shields came back though and Harmison finished off a team move with a strong shot that gave Winter no chance. Aycliffe then had a couple of half chances through Matthews and Craig Hutchinson.
Shields pressed for a winner and Winter made another fine save in injury time. A Shields shot then skimmed the bar right at the end. Aycliffe saw out time to gain the draw, which pushed them up to 14th place. Full time 2-2.
Newton Aycliffe suffered a 2-1 defeat away at Dunston. They weren’t at their best on the day, on a heavy pitch. Although they had players missing through absence and injuries, they could had no complaints about the result. Dunston were on top in the first half and went ahead in the 12th minute.
They worked a move down the wing and when the cross came in, Thear hit an unstoppable shot into the top corner past keeper Jack McLaren. The rest of the half saw no real chances until the 43rd minute when Dunston doubled their lead.
A long throw into the penalty box wasn’t cleared by Aycliffe, and the ball fell to Burrell who poked the ball home. Aycliffe improved after the break. They were grateful to young keeper McLaren on 66 minutes when he made a fine stop.
They then gave their fans some hope on 75 minutes when Thibault Charmey hit a fantastic free kick which Dunston keeper Harrison could only push out to centre half and man-of-the-match Andrew Grant-Soulsby, who scored from close in.
Aycliffe pushed for an equaliser and had the ball cleared off the line late on, but Dunston deservedly took the 2-1 win and the three points. Aycliffe remain in 14th place and take on Washington at home on Tuesday 27th March at 7.30pm.
