Bridlington Town held to 1-1 draw by late Newton Aycliffe strike

Matty Dixon came back into the midfield in place of Ellis Barkworth, whilst injury kept George Harrison out of the squad, so Glen Sani replaced the wide-man in the starting 11, writes Ben Edwards.

Just minutes into the NPL Division East game, a very strong appeal for a penalty-kick was waived away by referee David Holmes, as Lewis Dennison knocked the ball past Nathan Fisher, before the Newton Aycliffe shot-stopper appeared to have brought the striker down, though nothing was given by the referee.

Andy Norfolk had a great chance to open the scoring, though it fell on his weaker left foot and he ended up mis-hitting the ball, which flew a long way wide.

The hosts created a plethora of opportunities in the first half, putting relentless pressure on the Bridlington Town backline, though they couldn’t make anything of them as all their shots were off target.

Jack Walters looked the Seasiders biggest threat in the first half, beating his man in the air on more than one occasion from set-pieces, though Fisher was never really troubled.

More controversy entailed just before the half-time whistle, when Norfolk appeared to be elbowed by Jake Petitjean and was left with a very visible cut above his eye, though the referee only showed the Newton Aycliffe man a yellow card.

After a goalless first half, Newton Aycliffe came out after the break in a similar manner to how they played in the first half.

However, against the run of play, the visiting team’s excellent defensive performance was rewarded after 70 minutes.

A ball was played over the top to Dennison, who did superbly to create a chance out of nothing.

He flicked the ball past the home defender, before producing a stunning finish from a very tight angle past Fisher.

Ultimately, Newton Aycliffe’s pressure proved too much, as a set-piece was cleared only to Petitjean, who fired into the bottom right corner from the edge of the penalty area.