Newton Aycliffe crashed to a third-successive home defeat with a disappointing 2-1 defeat against Penrith.
Aycliffe led through debutant Phil Robinson’s first-half goal, but the visitors struck twice in two second-half minutes to snatch the three points and ensure their long trek home would be an enjoyable one.
Penrith’s Martyn Coleman ran Aycliffe ragged and set-up both goals for Scott Allison and Grant Davidson.
Aycliffe recalled Sean Tarling and Steve Gibson to the starting-line up in place of Josh Knox and Paul Broom. Robinson went straight into the team in place of the injured Dale Jardine.
And the new-boy got his name on the scoresheet within half-an-hour of his debut. Skipper Tarling won possession on the edge of the Aycliffe area, before exchanging passes with Gardner and sending a lovely ball through for Robinson, who tucked his shot past James Holland to give Aycliffe the lead.
It was the only bright spark in an otherwise scrappy first-half, with neither side having a clear-cut chance, other than the opening goal.
Aycliffe nearly doubled their lead two minutes after the break, but Darren Craddock could only head wide, after he connected with Tarling’s deflected effort from the edge of the area.
But just as it looked Aycliffe were going to earn a scrappy three-points, the visitors struck on 73-minutes. Coleman found some space on the left-hand side and crossed for Allison to clinically pick his spot and level the contest.
Aycliffe were still reeling when Penrith took the lead two-minutes later. Coleman was again the architect and his centre left Davidson with the simple task of slotting into an empty net.
Allan Oliver rang the changes, sending on Chase McMullen, Broom and Knox to try and rescue the game, but the Penrith defence stood firm.
It was the visitors who came closest to adding to the score. As Aycliffe pressed for an equaliser, Penrith broke down the left-hand side in stoppage-time. Coleman wriggled past two challenges before crashing his shot off the crossbar.
Aycliffe must now try to regroup for Friday night, as the club travel to face local rivals West Auckland in league action.Star Man Sean Tarling - assist

Match Preview

Match details

Match date

Kickoff

Meet time

Attendance

Team Sponsors