Whickham Vs Newton Aycliffe – Northern League Division One

Two out of two for Tony Fawcett’s Whickham team coming into Friday’s league match against a strong Newton Aycliffe side.

Whickham beat Crook Town 2-0 at the First Mortgage Glebe last Saturday – goals from Mark Fitzpatrick who finally got off the mark with a composed finish, before his strike partner Zak Atkinson grabbed his fifth of the season late on.

The away side come into the game off the back of a surprise 1-0 home defeat to nine-men West Allotment Celtic.

However they should not be taken lightly, Aycliffe boast the leagues fifth best defence as well as possessing quality attacking options going forward. 

After a relatively strong first half of the season Newton Aycliffe sit in seventh place with three wins in their last six league games.

The Lang Jacks will be without experienced midfielder Conor Newton, who is still a few weeks away from a return to the squad. The home side will also be without defenders Matthew Hoganson and Flynn Martindale, while Louis Parral is on international duty with Gibraltar.

On a positive note midfielder Scott Robson and striker Jack Robson return to the squad for the visit of Newton Aycliffe.

Whickham will be hoping Fitzpatrick can add to his goal against Crook on Friday night – Mark said: ‘’I was glad to get off the mark, I think previously as a striker I’ve just been chasing all game but now I can drop into the number 10 so I now have more time on the ball and play football.

It feels really good, I’ve had quite a few chances over the past couple of games but it wasn’t quite to be, I think if I missed that it would’ve been a wrap but it felt amazing to get off the mark.”

Whickham will be hoping to bridge the gap to eight points with victory on Friday, three points will be vital should the home side want to push for promotion.