Newton Aycliffe’s playoff push continues. They sit fourth with just three games remaining of the season.
Their last home game sees the visit of second place Dunston on Easter Monday (21st) at 1pm.
Before that, Brian Atkinson’s side make the long trip down to second bottom Sherwood Colliery on Saturday before ending the season at fellow strugglers Ossett on 26 April.
Cleethorpes Town have already been crowned champions. The teams in 2nd to 5th places will playoff for the remaining promotion place.
April 5th
Newton Aycliffe 0-0 North Ferriby
Not since April 2022 had Aycliffe recorded a goalless draw, which was at home to Whickham. This was a game characterized by few concrete chances for both sides in a cagey encounter which probably saw Ferriby prefer leaving with one point opposed to none as they chased the playoffs.
April 12th
Newton Aycliffe 4-0 Heaton Stannington
Heaton Stannington’s main task is to avoid falling into the final relegation spot, and their afternoon probably couldn’t have started any worse when Leighton Hopper was judged to have elbowed Jake Petitjean and promptly sent off in just 12 minutes. In the 17th minute Ethan Wood’s corner was whipped in with velocity and found Petitjean, Heaton’s Lewis Brass touched the ball but his grip wasn’t sufficient to hold the ball making it 1-0. The second goal also had Brass at fault, when his poor clearance was booted straight into Jack Clarkson, while Brass initially denied Clarkson, the ball found its way to Liam Adamson who wasted no time in making it 2-0. Half time saw referee dismiss Brass for dissent. The second half saw Dean Thexton make it 3-0 when he emphatically fired home at close range, and the points were sealed when Petitjean got his brace via a penalty in the 90th minute, his 21st goal of the league season.
LEAGUE TABLE
| P | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | Pts | ||
| C | Cleethorpes Town | 39 | 27 | 7 | 5 | 88 | 33 | 55 | 88 |
| 2 | Dunston | 39 | 22 | 9 | 8 | 79 | 45 | 34 | 75 |
| 3 | Belper Town | 39 | 21 | 9 | 9 | 67 | 48 | 19 | 72 |
| 4 | Newton Aycliffe | 39 | 20 | 11 | 8 | 90 | 59 | 31 | 71 |
| 5 | Emley AFC | 39 | 21 | 8 | 10 | 54 | 31 | 23 | 71 |
| 6 | Stocksbridge Park Steels | 39 | 20 | 9 | 10 | 58 | 37 | 21 | 69 |
| 7 | North Ferriby | 39 | 20 | 6 | 13 | 53 | 43 | 10 | 66 |
| 8 | Carlton Town | 39 | 18 | 11 | 10 | 62 | 51 | 11 | 65 |
| 9 | Garforth Town | 39 | 16 | 9 | 14 | 50 | 45 | 5 | 57 |
| 10 | Bradford (Park Avenue) | 39 | 15 | 9 | 15 | 58 | 53 | 5 | 54 |
| 11 | Bishop Auckland | 39 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 56 | 63 | -7 | 48 |
| 12 | Grimsby Borough (-3) | 39 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 44 | 43 | 1 | 47 |
| 13 | Pontefract Collieries | 39 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 51 | 67 | -16 | 45 |
| 14 | Consett AFC | 39 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 57 | 76 | -19 | 45 |
| 15 | Ossett United | 39 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 46 | 60 | -14 | 44 |
| 16 | Ashington AFC | 39 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 47 | 64 | -17 | 44 |
| 17 | Bridlington Town | 39 | 13 | 4 | 22 | 48 | 70 | -22 | 43 |
| 18 | Heaton Stannington | 39 | 11 | 9 | 19 | 49 | 65 | -16 | 42 |
| 19 | Brighouse Town (-3) | 39 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 43 | 67 | -24 | 40 |
| 20 | Liversedge | 39 | 7 | 12 | 20 | 47 | 65 | -18 | 33 |
| 21 | Sherwood Colliery | 39 | 9 | 6 | 24 | 41 | 77 | -36 | 33 |
| R | Sheffield | 39 | 7 | 7 | 25 | 47 | 73 | -26 | 28 |