By Martin Walker
Aycliffe boss Allan Oliver admits his side will be up against it when they go to Northern League title favourites Darlington tonight.
The Newtonians go to Bishop Auckland’s Heritage Park this evening to take on derby rivals Quakers in their first-ever competitive meeting.
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Darlo are second in the Northern League first division, while Aycliffe are third-bottom after picking up their first win of the season at home to Marske United on Saturday.
Anything other than a win for Martin Gray’s side would be a disaster for the title favourites, who are said to have a budget at least five times the size of Aycliffe’s.
So there’ll be no pressure on Aycliffe, even though boss Oliver admits it’ll be a difficult test.
“I watched Darlington play Dunston and they were very good,” said Oliver, in a Video Interview with Aycliffe Today.
“Martin (Gray) won’t take second best, I know what he’s like, but we’ll go there with a positive attitude.
“I think there’ll be a chance or two in us, but we know we’re up against it.
“A lot of the time you get the best out of your players when you’re up against it and they roll their sleeves up.
“I don’t think we’ll get as many chances as we did against Marske, but I think there’s a chance or two in us, over the 90 minutes.”
Kick-off tonight is 7.30pm, with admission priced £8 adults and £4 concessions.
Click here to see Oliver’s interview in full.