The first weekend of football after the Christmas break for all of our 21 teams. U12’s Eagles v Stockton Town Blues. Aycliffe were given a home draw in the quarter final of the league cup. Last time the two teams met it ended in a draw. Aycliffe started the stronger working hard for each other. Eventually we were rewarded when Brennan Fitzpatrick slid Calum Whitfield inside who slotted the ball in the net with a precision finish. To Stockton’s credit they started battling harder toward the end of the half and had Aycliffe on the back foot for a while. Aycliffe defended well, some of it with luck: HT 1.0. In the 2nd half we seemed comfortable and it was only a matter of time before we got the 2nd goal and Kieran Walton obliged from a great free kick. Stockton threw everything at us and pushed forward and but for some dominant keeping from Charlie Harrison they may have got their reward.
As it was, Aycliffe broke quickly from defence ending up getting the ball to George Clark who finished well. FT 3.0 and onwards to the Semi Final draw in February U12 Girls v Peterlee Helford. We welcomed bottom of the league, but fast improving Peterlee Helford, but Aycliffe were in control as Hattie scored a quick fire 12 minute hat trick to give us the platform to give everyone plenty of time on the pitch. Alex slotted in just before half time and a tremendous save from Faith HT 4-0.The second half saw a first ever goal from Chloe as she lobbed the keeper, then a first goal from Macy heading in from a Hattie corner, and finally Brooke was rewarded for her hard work. Neve hit a great volley that rattled the crossbar and a couple of good saves from the Peterlee goalkeeper as we cruised to take the 3pts, FT 7-0. Under 8’s Eagles v Gretton Crest Hartlepool. The game started at a very fast pace with some fantastic passing which resulted in great shots from the Eagles, hitting the post a few times during the game.
Eventually we broke through from a brilliant pass from Adam that found Will in some space to slot home. Nathan and Edwin were very strong at the back with some great tracking with help from others too. Just before half time Will found the back of the net for a second time after some fantastic footwork. After the break Gretton came out with long balls which we mostly sorted with some great marking. Ollie came on at half time and played his part very well. Gretton then hit a long ball that just squeezed past our defence to find their striker who slotted their first goal, closely followed by their second. With just a couple of minutes left to play their striker found himself one on one with Trystan our keeper, but Trystan stood tall and pulled off an outstanding save – one to be proud of. With just about the last kick of the ball Adam, who had a cracking game found the back of the net with some tidy footwork and a great finish. FT 3-2 Billingham v U13 Falcons Trying a new formation the team began the game on the front foot and controlled the game throughout the match. Sam Peat showed his goal scoring instincts are still intact after the Xmas break, boosting his chances of finishing as the league’s top scorer, scoring six! Will and Sam both scored well taken goals and Billingham grabbed a consolation goal. FT score 1-8 Good performance from the lads with MOTM awarded to Kieran for some quality wing play, providing half of the assists. Other results: U7 Eagles 2 v Consett Roma 1 U9 Eagles 0 v Jarrow Knights 5 U10 Girls 1 v Bishop Auckland 2 U10 Falcons 1 v Stockton Town Blues 1 If you want more information about our FA Charter Standard Community Club visit the website www.nayfc.com
