Newton Aycliffe 2, Whickham 0
By Bob Wood
Newton Aycliffe moved five points clear at the top of the Ebac Northern League with a hard fought win against Whickham.
Goals from Liam Jarvie and Liam Adamson gave Aycliffe the three points.
The visitors made Brian Atkinson’s team work for the win. Although Aycliffe had the better of the play they weren’t able to make the breakthrough in the first half.
It wasn’t until the 70th minute that the home side were able to take the lead. Ethan Wood and Liam Adamson combined with Wood playing a cross into the box.
A Whickham defender got to it first, unfortunately handling it, leading to a penalty being awarded to Aycliffe. For the second week in a row Liam Jarvie stepped up to score from the spot.
A rare talking point came shortly before full time. Whickham player Jamie Dunn, having been cautioned earlier, was sin-binned late in the game.
After the obligatory 10 minutes off the pitch he returned only to see a third yellow a minute later. One of the more unusual sending-offs at Moore Lane.
Deep into added time Liam Adamson clinched the points. Latching onto a long ball forward Adamson beat the defence slotting the his shot passed the Whickham keeper.
The final whistle saw Aycliffe notch up their eighth consecutive league win.
They will be seeking to keep the run going this week when Friday night football comes to the SecuriCorp Stadium.
Heaton Stannington will be the visitors to Moore Lane on Friday, February 10 (7.30pm). That game is followed by the visit of third place Whitley Bay on Tuesday, February 14.
• The above picture, by Yvonne Wood, shows Liam Adamson on his way to scoring Aycliffe’s second goal.