Newton Aycliffe FC v Morpeth Town

Newton Aycliffe have reached the First Qualifying round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history thanks to two goals from Matty Moffat. A goal in each half from the prolific striker gave Aycliffe a 2-0 win over Morpeth and a trip to either Brighouse Town or Atherton Collieries in the next round.
 
Aycliffe's first goal came after 15 minutes, Moffat beating the centre half to a header, then running on to the loose ball & firing past the Morpeth keeper, Karl Dryden. Early in the second half Morpeth's Jordan Fry had the ball in the net but the goal was ruled out. Within a few minutes Moffat had his and Aycliffe's second with another good finish giving the keeper no chance. Although Morpeth pressed to get back on terms the Aycliffe defence was outstanding to deny them.
 
This was an excellent performance against a strong Morpeth side a sign of the improvement Peter Dixon has brought to the club this year. Aycliffe have before never progressed beyond the two preliminary rounds of the FA Cup. The best previous result was taking Spennymoor to a replay in the Preliminary Round.
 
Aycliffe's opponents in the First Qualifying Round will be either Brighouse Town or Atherton Collieries who will play a replay at Atherton on Bank Holiday Monday. The next round will be played on Saturday 12 September.