Aycliffe fall to late defeat

Newton Aycliffe 3-4 Consett
Newton Aycliffe took the lead three times on Tuesday evening but it wasn’t enough to see off FA Vase finalists Consett who scored four to take all three points at the Beaumont Landscapes Stadium.

The Steelmen scored twice in the closing stages of the game past impromptu goalkeeper Marc Costello to complete a stunning turnaround on a remarkable evening in the Ebac Northern League Division One.

Adam Burnicle scored twice along with Jake Petitjean converting from the penalty spot but it wasn’t enough for the home side as goals from Dale Pearson, Luke Carr and substitute Ali Alshabeeb gave Consett all three points.

Carr failed to convert a penalty with the score at 3-2 which saw Aycliffe stopper Adam Pickford appearing to sustain a serious injury.

Colin Stromsoy made three changes to the side who drew with Whickham on Saturday as Connor Phelan replaced Lewis Walton while Ben Reay and Ben Dibb-Fuller came in for Arran Wearmouth and Liam Jarvie in a changed forward line.

And it was the perfect start for the home side as Burnicle was sent racing clear by Reay to expertly finish first time with just 24 seconds on the clock.

The striker had the opportunity to double Aycliffe’s lead two minutes later with almost a carbon copy of his goal moments earlier but this time he curled beyond Kyle Hayes’ post.

It was a miss that would quickly come back to haunt Aycliffe three minutes later as with their first real spell of possession Consett found an equaliser.

Nick Allen was able to move out of defence before playing an inch-perfect pass into Pearson who kept his cool to slot beyond Pickford.

The goal sparked the away side into life as Matthew Cornish stung the palms of Pickford before he produced a stunning save to deny Carr from inside the area.

Despite Consett looking threatening it was Aycliffe who regained the lead in the 25th minute when Petitjean dispatched his penalty after Allen brought down Aaron Brown in the area.

The lead lasted just five minutes again though as Carr was able to benefit on Brown’s failed clearance to cleverly clip an effort over the onrushing Pickford.

Aycliffe had Pickford to thank again for keeping the scores level at the break as he got down superbly to push Cornish’ low strike around the post.

Carr saw his effort from range fizz narrowly wide of the post early in the second half as both teams picked up where they left off in the second half.

Aycliffe took the lead for the third time of the evening just before the hour mark when Reay was able to split the Consett backline with a clever through ball to Burnicle who just about did enough to force the ball into the corner underneath Hayes.

The pattern of the game threatened to continue however as the visitors had the chance to restore parity just six minutes later when Pearson latched onto Jermaine Metz’ pass and was brought down by a combination of Brown and Callum Munro.

Carr stepped up and tried to outfox Pickford by dinking his spot kick down the middle but he put too much on it and instead lofted his kick over the bar.

The penalty still came at a cost to Aycliffe as Pickford appeared to injury himself upon diving. The goalkeeper tried to play on but was forced off after clearing a ball 10 minutes later in what would prove to be the turning point in the game.

With no substitute goalkeeper on the bench, midfielder Costello was given the gloves and tasked with keeping the Steelmen out for the remaining 17 minutes.

Costello and Aycliffe came within five minutes of holding on to take all three points when Metz was able to flick on Arjun Purewal’s long ball into the path of Alshabeeb who poked beyond Costello with his first touch since coming off the bench.

Alshabeeb continued to cause problems as Consett went in search of a winner but it was Aycliffe who almost claimed all three points in the first of six added minutes of stoppage time.

Liam Jarvie saw his effort blocked and fall into the path of Dibb-Fuller who got his shot off smartly but the ball trickled agonisingly past the post with the keeper rooted.

With the game destined for a draw Alshabeeb picked up the ball on the edge of the Aycliffe area and slid the ball to Pearson who fired a fierce shot beyond Costello with one of the last kicks of the game to seal all three points for Consett.