Newton Aycliffe FC v Consett

Newton Aycliffe FC's relegation fears were not eased with a loss to Consett on Tuesday night. This result sees Aycliffe lie 17th in the Ebac Northern League Division One, five points above the relegation zone. However, some of the teams below have games in hand while Aycliffe have just four league games left to play.
The game got off to the worst possible start for Aycliffe, conceding a goal after just four minutes. Chris Moore's very quick run down the right wing was followed by a cross which was fired home by Dan Craggs.
Aycliffe equalised four minutes before half time with a move started and finished by Jordan Laidler. The Aycliffe centre forward played a ball out to right full-back Aaron Brown whose cross found Laidler who'd made his way into the Consett penalty area and finished from close range.
The second half saw Aycliffe try to put pressure on the Consett goal and after 65 mins their efforts were rewarded when a Dennis Knight run into the box was ended with him being tripped by a defender. Aycliffe's regular penalty taker, Stuart Banks, was as reliable as ever from the spot to make the score 2-1.
The joy was not to last long, however, with Consett equalising five minutes later when Scott Martindale's deflected shot caught Aycliffe keeper James Winter wrong footed. Any hopes Aycliffe had of holding out for a point were dashed after 82 mins when Matt Slocombe scored a fine goal. Advancing through the defence, which failed to get in a challenge, Slocombe struck a powerful shot into the top of the net.
Aycliffe now face some tough games, home to in-form Morpeth on Saturday. They then play two of the top three sides in the league, Guisborough and North Shields.