Avro were forced to settle for a point at The Vestacare yesterday afternoon after a resilient Newcastle defence held out everything The Ro attack had to offer. This came on the back of two consecutive league victories for Avro against Mossley and Vauxhall Motors.
Avro were dealt a blow before the game with the injury to leading goalscorer Kyle Hawley, who was ruled out after coming off against Vauxhall Motors midweek. Oliver Putnam was named up front as his replacement.
Recent signing Ryley Smith found himself on the ball a lot in the opening stages of the match and showed his quality and confidence on the ball as he created the first chance of the afternoon. He laid the ball off to Jake Cottrell and his shot forced a smart save from Slinn in the Newcastle goal.
Avro would count themselves lucky to be level in the 25th minute when Newcastle had a great chance to go ahead. Brindle raced clear on goal but he elected to take the unselfish route and pass instead of having an attempt on goal, but this was smartly intercepted and cleared by Chiekh Thiam.
Avro were dealt a further blow before the break with a double enforced change in a short period of time due to injury. These changes saw both Jack Morrow and Deane Smalley leave the field due to injury with Sam Davidson and Fortune Maphosa entering play.
The second half followed a similar pattern of play to that of the first half, with Avro controlling possession but not managing to create any clear chance on goal or test Slinn in the Newcastle goal.
Grant Shenton opted to resort to his substitution bench as Avro were struggling to capitalise on dominance. These changes saw Harry Salt and Dylan Gairns introduced, replacing both Oliver Putnam and Adam Owen.
Late on, Avro had a chance at taking the lead in what would’ve almost certainly secured the points. The ball fell to Dylan Gaines at the back post, but his effort was high of the goal and was a reflection of how the afternoon went in front of goal for Avro.
It ended in a 0-0 stalemate and Avro will look to enjoy a week off midweek before making the short trip to face Wythenshawe Town away next Saturday.
Lineups:
Avro: Mason, Thiam, Owen (Salt 56’), Smalley (Maphosa 37’), Kenny, Morrow (Davidson 25’), Warburton (Iwobi 86’), Cottrell, Putnam (Gairns 68’), Djankpata, Smith
Newcastle Town: Slinn, Derbyshire, Lawton, Ofosu, Brown, Matthews, Brindle (Lawson 65’), Efunnuga, Jones, Scutt (Brown 65’), Ritchie
Subs Not Used: Falding, Esquivel-McGann, Rodgers-Morris
