Match Preview

Promoted as 22/23 Northern League Champions, Newton Aycliffe’s NPL East campaign was slow to get going. The County Durham side only won three of the first ten matches and might have thought they were in for a difficult season. To their immense credit the home side currently sit fourth after a brilliant run of form which saw them scalp, among others, Stockton, Hebburn, Belper, Pontefract and Carlton in this reverse fixture back in December. Only after the 3-0 win against Carlton did Newton Aycliffe first break into the top 10 but they’ve not looked back since. That fiery encounter saw not only three goals but also eleven yellows and a red after fourteen minutes to Shea Thompson-Harris, the Millers right back.
By and large, Aycliffe have avoided the postponements which have dogged many other sides in the division and only have three scheduled games left albeit they will need to find time to replay the recent game against Dunston which was abandoned at half time as the surface became unplayable. In their last outing, Aycliffe defeated Bridlington in an entertaining 5-3 game. The home side are the fourth highest goal scorers in the league with Liam Adamson, Cole Kiernan and Kyle Davis all achieving double figures to date.
Aycliffe have an excellent home record, winning eleven of the sixteen contests but Carlton have the joint best away record and the most away wins in the division. Their last away win was at Stockton and having seen their three game winning mini streak halted midweek by Hebburn, the Millers will be all out for a win to get back on track and put pressure on Newton Aycliffe and the other sides currently occupying those play off places.