Newton Aycliffe FC v Hartlepool FC

By Paul McGearyNewton Aycliffe made it four wins on the trot, and added four more goals to their impressive pre-season haul as they trumped Wearside League outfit Hartlepool FC 4-2 at the Gray Field Sports Pavilion.A brace apiece from Ben Wood and Dan Robinson secured victory, although 15 minutes of defensive lapse at the start of the second period allowed the hosts back into the game, Daniel Corbett also weighing in with a pair of goals.The Newtonians controlled play in the opening 45 minutes, and Wood had a goal chalked off for a tight offside call inside the opening minutes. The same player saw his cleverly lofted shot just miss the far post in the 16th minute.Skipper Sean Tarling stung the 'keeper's palms in the 28th minute with a left-footed drive which came at the end of a bursting run which saw the 26-year-old leave two men in his wake on halfway.Paul Broom's angled drive hit the inside of the upright on 33 minutes with the hosts scrambling the loose ball clear for a corner as Aycliffe dominated.Six minutes remained until the break and in the space of 60-seconds, Allan Oliver's charges found themselves two goals to the good. Chase McMullen's left-wing corner was volleyed in off the bar by Wood at the back post while Broom and Wood linked up well to send Robinson through to slot home one-on-one from the restart.Wood screwed a 45th minute effort wide while at the other end Scott Pocklington was a mere spectator with his only real action coming in the form of some smart control and footwork following Darren Craddock's role of executioner with a tricky back-pass.If Aycliffe cruised in the first half, they hit self-destruct in the opening 15 minutes of the second, with Crook Town striker Corbett - who hit 19 goals for a struggling Brandon side last term - capitalising on two defensive errors to level the scores.Aycliffe always had another gear which they could find though and with Dan Mellanby pulling the strings up front, parity didn't last for two long.Feeding Martin Sowerby down the left, Mellanby controlled the youngster's cross before finding Tarling to lay Wood through with an intricate reverse ball, the former Sunderland Academy product doing the rest in front of goal while Mellanby's perfectly weighted slide-rule ball allowed Robinson the chance to cutely finish a well-worked manoeuvre with 12 minutes remaining.Pocklington; Craddock, Beckett, Peck, McHew (Campbell 45); McMullen (Mellanby 45), Broom (McMullen 80), Tarling (Robinson 70), Robinson (Knox 45); Woodhouse (Sowerby 66), B.Wood