Newton Aycliffe Juniors players have been reaping the reward of the club investing their subscription fees in winter jackets. The players have been particularly grateful in recent weeks as the cold or wet weather (or both!) has been quite evident. Pictured are the Under 8’s in their new jackets – thanks to all at the club involved in helping keep the players appropriately kitted out!
This week the games continued and the Under 7’s faced Darlington RA Spitfires and came away with two wins after outstanding performances in both games. Due to the previous cancellation of fixtures both of the day’s games counted towards league standings. First up Aycliffe dominated showing determination and great football with goals from Kai, Ashton, Josh and Ethan leading to a 4-0 win. The second game ended 4-3 with Aycliffe goals this time round for Kai, Harry, Josh and Harrison. Each of the players used in goal over the two games were great these were Harrison, Roman, Ethan and Ashton and the nature of the team effort saw every player named man of the match.
Under 8’s made a great comeback from 3-0 down to win 5-3 against Middleton Dragons. They conceded the three goals in the first ten minutes and it could have been more if it wasn’t for some great saves from Lucas in the Aycliffe goal. Harvey then finished a move involving Rhys and Jayden to claw a goal back before Rhys rounded the keeper to reduce the deficit to one goal at 3-2.
Rhys added a free kick then Harvey followed up and scored from Jayden’s deflected shot to take the lead, the win rounded off when Jayden added the final goal. In the second goal two goals from Niall gave the home team a good start and Jake scored to provide a 3-3 lead. Middleton got two goals back and the game ended 3-2. The whole team are showing great improvement week on week.
Under 9’s were away to league leaders Barnard Castle and started playing in to the strong wind which proved to be a challenge as they went down 3-0 by half time. Lewis scored in the second half after the home team had added their fourth goal. Parker made a couple of good saves with Cody and Jason doing well in front of him but the fifth goal could not be stopped. The game ended 5-1 with Aycliffe losing out to a good passing team on the day. Man of the match was Thomas who had his usual solid game.
Both Under 10 teams secured wins over the weekend. The Russell Foster side were first up on Saturday and Taylor’s goal secured a 1-0 win against Fulwell Juniors. Fulwell were determined opposition and had the first real chance on goal but Herbie was in excellent form in goal to keep them out. Josh came on at half time to make his debut, Taylor struck a great goal in to the bottom corner to take the lead. Further chances came but the score stayed at 1-0, Herbie was both the players and parents man of the match. The TJFA league side faced a strong Middleton Rangers team who were the only side to beat them in the league last year. It was a keenly contested match with Jake rewarding a great display with a goal and Lucas finishing Charlie’s through ball for the winner after Middleton had equalised.
Under 11’s won 1-0 away at Thirsk and the Under 12’s played Brompton Juniors at Sunnydale with the Aycliffe team on top in a fast paced first half, but the visitors had a well drilled defence who were hard to break down. Nathan made a good save and Curtis a goal line clearance to keep the visitors out and the game scoreless. Zack then finished a cross from Dylan and Aycliffe had a deserved 1-0 lead. Brompton equalised just before half time and continued their strong attacking play to add two more early in the second half and open up a 3-1 lead. The Brompton keeper ensured there was no further score from Aycliffe and the game ended 3-1 with Nathan as the man of the match for his top class goal keeping on the day.
Under 14’s drew 1-1 away to Kader FC in challenging windy conditions with several withdrawls from the squad so a make shift defence took to the field. This included striker and leading scorer Lewis Hynes. The team were working well and Burrows scored after ten minutes to get the lead. The conditions made the game scrappy but the defence was only breached when Kader scored from what seemed like an offside position to level the game. It ended in a draw and Lewis Hynes was man of the match for his performance in an unfamiliar position.
Under 18 Blacks game was postponed and the Reds game was abandoned however the Under 23’s completed their fixture at West Auckland after the same game at Sunnydale had been abandoned due to a serious injury a few weeks ago. Aycliffe found themselves 3-0 down after 35 minutes and this remained the score at half time after what was felt to be a penalty kick for Aycliffe was not awarded. In to the second half Liam Tallentire pulled a goal back and the improvement continued with chances created but not taken. The game finished 3-1 and the team will need to pick themselves up for a game against league leaders Guisborough next week.
