Newton Aycliffe 6, Redcar Athletic 1
By Dave Strickland
Newton Aycliffe won impressively at home against Redcar Athletic in the League Cup on Tuesday night.
The crowd at the Beaumont Landscapes Stadium were treated to seven goals as Aycliffe won 6-1 – off the back of their 4-0 league win over Penrith last weekend.
Redcar are having a good season themselves, being top of division two. However they couldn’t cope with Aycliffe, particularly in the first half.
Aycliffe went ahead after only five minutes. A move developed down the left, and when it came inside to Ethan Wood, he hammered it into the bottom corner of the net. Aycliffe nearly went two up when Liam Jarvie chased a loose ball, and under pressure a defender nearly put through his own net.
Aycliffe were dominating the possession and did increase their lead in the 34th minute. A corner wasn’t cleared and the ball fell to Jordan Ballan, who made no mistake.
Four minutes later, Ballan got his second and Aycliffe’s third. After keeping possession for some time, a sweeping pass was made to Connor Phelan on the right wing. He crossed it low into the box for Ballan to finish. Within a minute it was 4-0. Wood played in Jarvie, who took the ball round Redcar keeper Lawrence for his first goal for the club.
Aycliffe were not as fluent at the start of the second half, and Redcar did finally enjoy some possession.
The sides traded shots until the hour mark, when Carmichael hit a fine shot direct from a free kick to beat Adam Pickford in the Aycliffe goal to make it 4-1.
That seemed to kick start Aycliffe again and they started creating lots of chances, with Ballan, Jarvie, Wood, Liam Walton and Shaun Ryder all going close.
They went further ahead with eight minutes remaining. Substitute Matty Pennal chased down a clearance, dinked it around Lawrence and made no mistake for 5-1.
Two minutes later it was six; man-of-the-match Wood hit a brilliant free kick over the wall and into the top corner to cap a good team performance.
Aycliffe now have one match left in their group – against Northallerton at the end of October.
Their next match is away to Billingham Town on Saturday (October 19, 3pm). Then they are away to Brandon United in the Durham Challenge Cup on Wednesday (October 23, 7.45pm).