By Ben Potts
Morpeth faced off against Newton Aycliffe three times last season, with the Highwaymen winning two games – at home in the league and away in the FA Vase.
Club: Newton Aycliffe
Nickname: The Newtonians
Founded: 1965
Ground: Moore Lane Park
Craik Park to Aycliffe: 49 miles
Last Season: 9th
Twitter: @Naycliffefc
Morpeth Town take on Newton Aycliffe at Craik Park on the last Saturday in September with Dave Malone and Nick Gray looking for a much better result than the last time the two sides met.
On the final day of last season, Liam Henderson netted a consolation goal as the Highwayman lost 3-1 away to Aycliffe.
A controversial visit earlier on in the campaign saw the end of Peter Dixon’s reign at Aycliffe after a brace from Henderson and a goal from Mathew Grieve saw Morpeth win a tense FA Vase contest 3-2.
Morpeth’s biggest ever win in the fixture came last October as a Mark Davison hat trick, along with strikes from Ben Sayer and Henderson, sealed the victory. Their biggest defeat to the Newtonians came at Moore Lane on 9 April, 2016. That game also finished 5-0.
Aycliffe co-managers Deano Browne and Danny Mellanby have been busy reshaping their squad this summer.
Striker Jamie Owens has joined newly-promoted Stockton Town with Craig Hutchinson, who scored 50 goals in Division Two last season, going the other way. Ben Wood has left the club to sign for West Auckland, while midfielder Ben Trotter has signed for Bishop Auckland.
Along with Hutchinson, the Newtonians have also brought in former Darlington full-back Paul Weldon, midfielder Connor Hood from Marske United, former Chester-le-Street captain Andrew Soulsby and ex-Billingham Town midfielder Jamie Davies.
The overall record stands at three Morpeth wins, two draws and seven Aycliffe wins.
