STOCKTON TOWN VS NEWTON AYCLIFFE PREVIEW
COMPETITION: Isuzu FA Trophy First Round
DATE: Saturday 26th October, 2024
KICK-OFF: 15:00
ENTRY: £11 Adult, £9 Concessions, £5 11-18-year-olds, £3 under-11’s
Tickets can be purchased via the link- https://stocktontownfc.ktckts.com/event/aycliffefatropy/newton-aycliffe-fa-trophy
GROUND: Stockton Town FC, MAP Group UK Stadium, Bishopton Road West, Stockton-on-Tees, TS19 0QD
LIVE UPDATES: @stockton_townfc – Twitter/X
LIVE COMMENTARY: Anchors Radio (mixlr.com)
It’s another break from league action for Stockton Town this Saturday when they host Newton Aycliffe in the FA Trophy First Round.
The Anchors are competing in the First Round for the first time after beating Blyth Spartans 2-0 on the road in the Third Qualifying Round.
They head into the tie in sparkling form having won their last four league games. On Wednesday night they backed up their 3-0 win over Mickleover with a 5-0 thrashing of Workington.
Stephen Thompson and Josh Scott helped themselves to a brace, while Mikey Roberts scored the other to take his tally of Stockton Town goals to 90.
There could be a return for Kev Hayes in the game with this earmarked as his return by the management team.
THE OPPOSITION
Newton Aycliffe are also competing in the FA Trophy First Round for the first time this season. This season saw them win their first FA Trophy match with a penalty shootout win at Vauxhall Motors in the First Qualifying Round. They followed that up with a 3-0 win at Emley in the Second Qualifying Round, and then in the Third Qualifying Round they won 1-0 at Whitby Town.
Since that win at Whitby their league form has taken an upturn with three wins out of four. Aycliffe dispatched Brighouse Town comfortably at home, narrowly lost at Cleethorpes Town, before winning 2-0 on their travels at Belper Town and putting Consett to the sword 4-1 in their latest match.
Striker Dean Thexton, who scored a brace for Shildon in Stockton’s final-ever FA Vase match, has been in great form with 12 goals so far this season including a hattrick in the win over Consett.
Former Stockton Town midfielder Jake Petitjean remains a stalwart for Newton Aycliffe with six goals. Another former Anchor Cieran Jackson has netted four this season with the latest coming in the win over Consett.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Stockton Town and Newton Aycliffe have met nine times in the past. Here are the last five results:
05 Mar 24- Newton Aycliffe 3-0 Stockton Town- Northern Premier League East Division
28 Aug 23– Stockton Town 2-0 Newton Aycliffe- Northern Premier League East Division
07 Jan 20– Newton Aycliffe 0-3 Stockton Town- Durham Challenge Cup
04 Sep 19– Stockton Town 5-0 Newton Aycliffe- Northern League Division One
16 Feb 19– Stockton Town 2-2 Newton Aycliffe- Northern League Division One
05 Jan 19– Newton Aycliffe 1-5 Stockton Town- Northern League Division One
FORM GUIDE
Stockton Town: W W W W W
Last Game: Stockton Town 5-0 Workington AFC
Newton Aycliffe: W W L W W
Last Game: Newton Aycliffe 4-1 Consett AFC
PRE-MATCH QUOTES
Looking ahead to the game, Michael Dunwell said:
“Aycliffe are a very good team, we went to watch them on Tuesday night and they beat Consett 4-1.
“They are very good going forward and are lively. They will be dangerous as they were last year when we played them in both games. They beat us 3-0 at their place.
“It will be a real tough test and we will need to be as good as we have been to get through.”
