THE LATE, LATE, LATE (TACKLE) SHOW
This FA Cup tie seemed destined to leave the drama right to the end.
Three days after Guisborough Town keeper Jordan Nixon’s sensational added time equaliser, the drama was played out in the closing minutes of this replay.
For 87 minutes the match had been pretty forgettable.
The first half in particular was poor, with passing and scoring opportunities at a premium.
The first decent chance came in the 21st minute when the ball was put over the top of the Guisborough defence. Ryan Noble ran on to the pass and hit it first time, forcing Nixon to dive and punch it away. Thirteen minutes later the visitors’ best chance fell to winger Steven Roberts. He ran at pace down the left, cut back inside and got a good shot away. The ball swerved and Newton Aycliffe keeper James Winter could only get an arm to it to knock it away.
Guisborough were marginally the better side in the first half, but the game left a lot to be desired. The second half perked up. Both sides played at a higher pace but it was Guisborough who gradually improved as the half progressed.
In the 53rd minute Roberts and left back Dylan McAvoy combined well down the left, with the ball eventually coming to Brian Close and his first time shot was tipped over the bar by Winter.
On the hour mark one of Aycliffe’s few chances fell to Ian Ward but he couldn’t get enough power in a header to a ball knocked in from the left.
It wasn’t until around the 70-minute mark that Guisborough started to dominate the game: stringing passes together, working the ball round the pitch, retaining possession and putting some good crosses into the Aycliffe box.
For their part Newton Aycliffe never really got going as a team. They packed their own area to thwart a number of Guisborough attacks. Eventually the defence buckled, but it came late in the game.
In the 88th minute Steven placed a superb free kick over the defensive wall and inside the left hand post, just out of Winter’s reach. It was the first bit of real quality in the match.
Two minutes later Nathan Steel sealed the win. He latched on to a through ball, ran clear to put himself one-on-one with Winter. The Town substitute took his time, picked his spot and knocked it past the keeper’s out-stretched left hand to make it 0-2.
It then went from bad to worse when Newton Aycliffe sub Matthew Pennal was shown a straight red car for a scything, late tackle on McAvoy in the 92nd minute.
Guisborough progress.
Newton Aycliffe 0 Guisborough Town 2 – Emirates FA Cup Extra Preliminary Qualifying Round
Mike Snowdon