Aycliffe gained their first league win of the season, with a convincing 3-0 win at home to Penrith. They started well and went ahead in the 7th minute. Craig Hutchinson swung a good corner in, and a Penrith defender put the ball into his own net, under pressure from Andrew Grant-Soulsby. Five minutes later they made it 2-0, when Hutchinson put Mattie Pennal through the Penrith defensive line, and he finished one-on-one with Dixon, the Penrith keeper. It only took another four minutes for them to go 3-0 up. Marc Costello put Hutchinson through near the goal line, and he pulled the ball back for Pennal to score. The remainder of the half was quieter, with few chances created. HT 3-0.
Penrith made two changes at half-time in a bid to rescue the game, and they were slightly on top for the first 15 minutes, but without looking like scoring. Aycliffe then also made substitutions, and with the fresh legs they got back on top, but they couldn’t make any further breakthroughs. Fulltime 3-0. MOTM : Craig Hutchinson. Attendance : 71. Bank Holiday Monday saw a depleted Aycliffe squad travel to Marske Utd for another Ebac Northern League Division One game. Thanks to holidays & injuries the visitors found themselves short of substitutes with goalkeeper James Winter coming off the bench to finish the game at centre forward when Mattie Pennal picked up an injury. Marske were quick off the mark with a goal in the first five minutes from former Aycliffe striker Danny Earl. The home side went into the game with a 100% league record so far this season & doubled their lead just before half-time with a direct free kick from Craig Gott.
Aycliffe played much better in the second half & Stuart Banks pulled a goal back after 64 mins. Despite further pressure Aycliffe were unable to grab an equaliser. FT 2-1 Aycliffe’s next game is Saturday 2nd September when Team Northumbria will be the visitors to Moore Lane (kick off 3pm). There will be a further home game on Tuesday 5 September when Newcastle Benfield visit (kick off 7:30pm). A busy week will be rounded off on Friday 8 September when Aycliffe travel to Whickham for the first qualifying round of the FA Vase. Photo: Stuart Banks at Marske
