The Opposition - History
The club joined the Wearside League in 1984–85 and spent just under a decade in that league, their best finish being in 1988–89 when they finished in seventh place.
They folded in March of the 1993–94 season after picking up two points from their opening 20 games.
The team competed in the FA Vase in every season, their best run being in 1991–92 when they got to the third round.
The club reformed and played in local football before joining the Durham Alliance. They won that league in 2007–08 and joined the Wearside League.
The club was elected into the Northern League for the 2009–10 season, after finishing first in their previous season in the Wearside Football League.
Finishing in ninth place in their first season in the second division of the Northern League, they went on to become the Champions of the division with three games remaining.
Having anticipated the possibility months before, the team were required to make more improvements to the home ground to be eligible to play in the First Division of the Northern League.
Upon ensuring their place in the top division, they finished in ninth place and participated in the FA Cup for the first time.

The club remained in the Northern League First Division for the next twelve years, winning the Durham FA Challenge Cup in 2016.
In the 2019/20 season the club finished in its highest league position of fifth, despite the season being declared void following the outbreak of COVID-19.
The following season saw The Newtonians sitting in fifth place, once again, when that season was curtailed following the second lock down period.
The following season saw Newton Aycliffe finish in fourth place in the table.
The 2022/23 season saw the club win the First Division title and promotion to Step 4 having seen off the threat of big-spenders Ashington to win the championship by five points.
The club were promoted to the eighth tier in the 2022–23 season following becoming Division One Champions.
The club reached the semi-finals of the Durham Challenge Cup in 2024 but were eventually knocked out by Whickham on penalties.
(Source - Wikipedia)

Manager Brian Atkinson took over in November 2021.

A journey of around 130 miles awaits the Nailers today.

The Opposition - This Season
The Cliffe had a fantastic start to the season, going undefeated in their first nine matches in all competitions before an FA Cup exit at Warrington Rylands started a run of three defeats in four matches.
They reached the First Round of the FA Trophy, coming unstuck in a north-east derby at Stockton Town.
After this they won three games in a row, all at Moore Lane before defeat to Ashington.
However following this they played five successive matches on the road and won four of them to sit 4th going into the festive period.
They finished 2024 with a great win over Bishop Auckland but were brought back down to earth in their 2025 opener at Emley.
Recent weeks have seen comfortable wins over Ashington (4-0) and Bridlington (5-0) before a home defeat to Cleethorpes and they come into the match today off the back of a thrilling 4-4 draw at Consett last weekend.

League (6th): P 29 W 14 D 8 L 7 F 70 A 50 Pts. 50
Cups: P 10 W 3 D 5 L 2 F 14 A 10

Top goalscorers: Jake Petitjean (18), Dean Thexton (16), Liam Jarvie (14)
Most appearances: Ethan Wood (39), Joe Ferguson, Alex Nelson and Jim Pollard (38 each)
Biggest victory: 5-0 vs. Bridlington Town (1st February)
Heaviest defeat: 0-4 vs. Liversedge (28th September)
Highest home attendance: 423 vs. Bishop Auckland (30th December)
Average home attendance: 209 (19th/22)
Most consecutive wins: 4
Most games without a win: 4
Most consecutive defeats: 2
Most games without a defeat: 7

The Nailers
Belper had a dream start to the season, winning their opening two NPL games and FA Cup opener against Lutterworth Town.
Defeat at Emley was just a minor blip as the Nailers bounced back with wins over Bridlington Town and Sherwood Colliery.
An exit from the FA Cup followed at the hands of Bromsgrove Sporting and then after a fine performance and win at North Ferriby it was disappointment in a home defeat to Cleethorpes Town.
This kickstarted a five game winning run which ended with two poor home performances against Brighouse Town and today's hosts, both matches were lost 2-0.
After a win at Carlton Town came a penalty shootout exit from the FA Trophy at Chasetown and then a crazy 6-4 win over Consett.
This began another good run of four wins in a row but following this Belper failed to win in four.
More back to back wins followed, four again but that run ended on the 14th of January and since then the Nailers have lost five out of six and conceded 17 goals.
Harry Draper is well clear as leading goalscorer with 22 while Luke Rawson picked up nine before re-joining Stocksbridge and Curtis Burrows sits on seven.

Head to Head
The two sides met for the first time last season.
Firstly a midweek game in November and it was to be the first time the Nailers had lost back to back matches.
The Newtonians surged in to a three goal lead thanks to a 26 minute hattrick from Kyle Davis but Mason Warren's penalty on the half hour mark got Belper back in to the match.
The visitors quickly restored their three goal lead but that was their last goal of the evening.
Second half strikes from Cam Johnson and Kev Bastos weren't enough and the Durham side earned all three points with a 3-4 victory in front of 303 fans.
Belper gained revenge in March when goals from James Cadman and Curtis Burrows were enough to secure the points in a 2-1 win despite Brodie Litchfield's red card with 20 minutes remaining.
Earlier this season Cliffe won 2-0 at the Raygar Stadium, Liam Jarvie securing the points in the final minute.
Overall Belper's record reads: P 3 W 1 D 0 L 2 F 5 A 7.
(All fixtures at Step 4).

Form Guide (all comps)
Newton Aycliffe: LDWWLD
Belper Town: LLLLWL

Team News
The newly re-signed Jerome Greaves is available for selection while Jack Broadhead is suspended.

Permutations
Belper's recent form means they are seven points off top spot, and five from Cleethorpes in 2nd.
However there remains a six point cushion to today's opponents who sit in the spot just outside the playoffs.
They can only drop one place today and that will happen if North Ferriby get a better result.
For Newton Aycliffe, they will enter the playoffs if they win and Dunston don't - a point won't be enough due to goal difference.
They are safe in terms of being caught from behind, with Garforth in 7th five points adrift.

Match details
Newton Aycliffe vs. Belper Town
Northern Premier League Division One East

Saturday, 15th February 2025 - 3:00pm kick off

Moore Lane
Newton Aycliffe
Durham
DL5 5AG

Admission prices: Adults £9 / Concessions £6 / Juniors £3

The Sports Club car park is accessed off Moore Lane. You can also use the Eco Centre car park on the opposite side of Moore Lane. Once both car parks are full please park sensibly & considerately in the surrounding streets.

Follow the match
Full coverage of the match:

• Audio commentary with Tom on Radio Belper Town
• Full text coverage on X, Facebook and Bluesky
• Match reports on the website (all matches) and in the Non-League Paper (Saturday matches only)

NPL East fixtures
Game of the day is probably this one with it involving a team in the playoffs visiting one within a win of entering the spots themselves.
Elsewhere table and form guide leaders Emley face a tough trip to Carlton who are undefeated in five matches while basement club Sheffield couldn't have it much tougher as they travel to Cleethorpes.

(13th) Ashington AFC vs. Brighouse Town (19th)
(9th) Bradford (Park Avenue) vs. Consett AFC (14th)
(10th) Carlton Town vs. Emley AFC (1st)
(2nd) Cleethorpes Town vs. Sheffield (22nd)
(5th) Dunston vs. Bridlington Town (20th)
(7th) Garforth Town vs. Grimsby Borough (12th)
(18th) Liversedge vs. Pontefract Collieries (15th)
(6th) Newton Aycliffe vs. Belper Town (3rd)
(4th) North Ferriby vs. Stocksbridge Park Steels (8th)
(16th) Ossett United vs. Bishop Auckland (11th)
(21st) Sherwood Colliery vs. Heaton Stannington (17th)