By Paul McGeary
It's now a huge 17 games since Aycliffe last tasted defeat in the league, served up by none other than yesterday's opponents Washington.
Allan Oliver's side were missing first-team mainstays Scott Pocklington, John Close, Chris Beckett, Elliot Gardner and Dan Mellanby back on that September day but with all five lining up at Moore Lane Park, the league-leaders were a different entity and were never asked to find third gear as they cruised past the lacklustre Mechanics.
Gardner and midfield partner Sean Tarling were a formidable pair in the centre of the pack, with the former grabbing two goals and denied a third by the upright in injury time. Warren Byrne also grabbed a brace as he took his season's tally to 22 in just 25 outings.
But it was former Football League star Dan Mellanby who stole the show, with a performance resembling those that thrust him into the thoughts of Darlington manager Gary Bennett, some 10-years ago.
The 31-year-old striker was outstanding on an afternoon when no-one in the visiting red shirts could get anywhere near him, as his silky skills and strength mesmerised all in front of him.
As early as the sixth minute Mellanby was pulling the strings as he superbly held the ball up before slotting through for Stuart Owen. Aycliffe's left-winger fired across goal forcing the covering Graham Liddle to put through his own goal but his blushes were spared by a last offside call.
Four minutes later and Mellanby tested another former Quaker, Dan Molyneux in the opposition goal. The former Darlington junior superbly tipping Mellanby's 25-yard lob over the Gretna-End crossbar and behind for a corner. Two minutes later and Molyneux was a mere spectator as Owen's drive took a coat of paint off the left-hand upright as Aycliffe laid seige.
After 16 minutes Oliver's side broke the deadlock in robust fashion. Gardner superbly controlled Molyneux's clearance on the half way line before driving towards the stopper's goal. In playing a one-two with Byrne, the make-shift midfielder collected the return and fired low into the bottom corner from 16-yards for his 12th of the campaign.
Nine minutes later and the same pair linked up to double the hosts' advantage. Gardner sent Byrne through with a dead-weight pass and the former Shildon man did the rest, checking back onto his favoured left-foot before firing high past a static Molyneux who watched helplessly as the ball near tore his net.
Washington's only reply came from an unlikely source. Pocklington did excellently to punch clear through a crowded area but with the ball landing at the feet of Keith Foster, Aycliffe's custodian could only watch as the big defender looped the ball over him and goalwards. Skipper Tarling preserved Aycliffe's clean sheet with a fantastic headed clearance facing his own goal as he nodded the ball away for a corner.
Tarling was instrumental in Aycliffe's third after the break as he burst into the area avoiding two challenges before he looked to be clumsily tripped by Liddle. Michael Bradley pointed immediately to the spot much to the dismay of defender Andy Inness who was red-carded for an outrageous outburst of language.
Byrne stepped up and smashed the ball past Molyneux for his second of the afternoon, and his sixth from the spot in Aycliffe colours.
Molyneux saved superbly from Aycliffe's captain 10 minutes later as Tarling side-stepped two more challenges but fired straight at the Washington 'keeper. The Newtonians did get a fourth with just five minutes remaining when Gardner finished off at the back post following some expert work from Mellanby and Anth Campbell.
Gardner headed straight at Molyneux in the dying embers before he struck an upright after good link-up play between Mellanby and Byrne as the hat-trick goal proved elusive. Byrne and Gardner have now on seven occasions failed to convert a brace of goals into a treble but that will not worry either man, nor their manager as his side extended their goal difference to a huge 15 ahead of danger side North Shields, who have five games in hand.
Star Man - Dan MELLANBY
Tarling was back to his best whilst Byrne and Gardner both registered two goals each as Aycliffe marched on. However, Mellanby rolled back the years with a virtuoso display of football that lacked just a goal to ice his cake. His fitness will be a key performer in the title run-in but on today's evidence, he could play every minute of every day.

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