Match Information
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Newton Aycliffe 1-3 Stocksbridge Park Steels
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When: Saturday 9th September 2023
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Kick-off: 3pm
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Where: The SecuriCorp Stadium, Newton Aycliffe Sports Club, Moore Lane, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham DL5 5AG
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Competition: The Isuzu FA Trophy First Round Qualifying
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Attendance: 192
I always consider the Isuzu FA Trophy in terms of being ‘The Non-League FA Cup’. It is a wonderful competition spanning the top four tiers of our thriving Non-League Pyramid.
Indeed, I’ve attended most of the finals at Wembley Stadium over the past 45 years. Furthermore, I am happy that I personally devised the current really successful format for Non-League Finals Day.
It came about following my detailed Non-League Paper article on 25th May 2014 suggesting the concept. Until then, the FA Vase Final and the FA Trophy Final were staged on different days.
Anyway, I studied the fixtures for this season’s Isuzu FA Trophy First Round Qualifying and decided to watch all-Northern Premier League East Division clash between Newton Aycliffe and Stocksbridge Park Steels.
The home side have certainly come a long way since climbing out of Step 7 Wearside League football in 2008/09. They are now competing at Step 4 level for the first time in their history after clinching the Northern League title last season - thus leaving the FA Vase for the FA Trophy.
It is interesting to recall how the Northern League opted to exist outside of our national Pyramid until 1991. Nowadays though, several former Northern League clubs are doing very nicely in the Northern Premier League and above.
Casual football fans may think of the North-East of England as a vibrant hotbed of football due to the famous giants of Newcastle United and Sunderland. But it has been rewarding for me to personally discover a prosperous and convivial Non-League scene in the area too.
With everything in mind, I set off on my 460 mile round trip almost totally utilising the A1 and A1(M) to County Durham. Newton Aycliffe itself is the oldest ‘new town’ in the north of England housing 27,000 residents.
Ground Description
The Newton Aycliffe Sports Club caters for archery, cricket, football and rugby union.
Their main building was opened in October 1964 and contains two spacious bars plus a 120-capacity multi-purpose function room.
I walked around behind this and found both cricket and rugby fixtures in full flow. The football stadium is at the far end of the complex.
For matchday spectators, prefab accommodation sits along one touchline providing 100 seats in ‘The Ebac Family Stand’ and adjacent covered terracing (‘BTS Facades & Fabrications Family Stand’) for an additional 150 supporters.
Programme Details
A good 40 page digital online edition which I was able to print out for my collection of groundhopping souvenirs. The contents afforded plenty of varied reading material including editorial notes, player profiles and histories of both teams, a topical Non-League Paper column, statistics and respective line-ups. Programme editor Bob Wood set the scene by writing: “…it’s another historic occasion. This is our first ever fixture in the Isuzu FA Trophy. This competition is for clubs at Steps 1-4 of the National League System so our promotion to the NPL moves us from Vase to Trophy.” An added bonus saw up to date printed teamsheets available at the game.
The Match
On the hottest day of the year, I anticipated a tight contest because both teams were in the lower reaches of their NPL division.
Newton Aycliffe started brightly before South Yorkshire opponents Stocksbridge opened the scoring through Jack Watson on 35 minutes.
Ten minutes beyond half-time, Mckenzie Dicicco (pronounced “De-Cheek-Oh”) equalised for the homesters.
However matters were settled once Steels marksman Luke Rawson emphatically supplied two more goals (61 and 90+7 minutes).
The People
Everyone I met at Newton Aycliffe was extremely friendly. In particular, enthusiastic kit man Andy Macfarlane gave me a warm welcome and spoke proudly regarding his club’s rapid progress across recent years.
I was impressed as Andy outlined their extensive youth football policy whereby 350 local kids are involved embracing under-8’s up to under-18’s creating a pathway to the NPL squad.
Consequently, many first team players are home grown within the town. Also special praise for the aforementioned Bob Wood.
During a necessary first half drinks break amidst sweltering conditions, Bob suddenly appeared like a traditional butler in the middle of the pitch wearing a kitchen apron whilst carrying a tray, a jug of water and three plastic cups for the grateful match officials!
*Credit for photos in this article belongs to @TonyIncenzo*
