BLYTH HALT HARRABY

By Bill Gardner
Harraby Catholic Club were away to Blyth Town in a fixture that has previously proved awkward for the Cumbrians in recent seasons and they were beaten 4-2 on this occasion. There was an hour’s deadlock before Blyth opened the scoring and when Danny Beresford was brought down by Harraby’s Jordan Coulthard, Mark Waugh scored from the spot. And the Town’s lead was doubled after 74 minutes when a defensive error was punished by home team substitute Graham Heath.

Harraby responded and Dan Wordsworth reduced the arrears when James Earl’s flag kick gave him the chance to head home from close range. Blyth however had their two-goal advantage restored and Danny Beresford netted with the aid of a helpful deflection. Mike Swift hit back again for Harraby and when Earl’s free kick came back off the bar, he hammered the ball in from the rebound. But Blyth Town still had the last word and the unmarked Heath bagged his second goal of the game.

Wark and Walker Central swapped places on the basis of goal difference at the head of the Premier Division table and Wark’s 3-2 home win against Killingworth Sporting installed them in pole position. Goal-a-game striker Marc Nixon bagged two of Wark’s goals to take his tally to fifteen and the other scorer for the winners was Jamie Peel. Killy’s replies came from Nick Hindhaugh and Liam Callaghan.

Walker Central suffered their first defeat as their hopes for an eighth win on the trot were scuppered by visitors Ashington Colliers. A late show by the Colliers earned them a 4-2 victory. After Glen Taylor gave Ashington an interval lead the Central hit back with two quick second half strikes by Steve Forster and David Dormand. But inside the last fifteen minutes John Rees, Joe Moscrop and Anthony Wright netted for the visitors to wrap up the points.

Carlisle City are in third spot and ended their recent lean spell with a 3-0 success at Murton.

Experienced striker Graeme Lupton’s return to City has given them a cutting edge and he bagged a goal in each half to put the Cumbrians in charge. Stuart Hill also found the net in the 75th minute to complete the scoring.

With Killingworth losing at Wark, Heaton Stannington stayed in joint fourth place despite losing 5-4 to Seaton Delaval in a real thriller at Wheatridge Park. Delaval looked set for a more comfortable win when they had Carl Begbie, Stephen Howes and Nick Gray on target inside the first fifteen minutes. Heaton hit back through Adam Donaghey (penalty) and Kevin Carr before the break to signal a nail-biting second half. Although Edmore Murau and Lawrence McKenna added to the visitors’ tally it was Delaval who picked up the points when Jeff Fuller bagged himself a vital brace.

Cramlington Town are still waiting for their first home win after drawing 3-3 with Stocksfield. The Town were fired in front midway through the opening half by David Atkinson as he turned in Graham Hogg’s low cross. Stocksfield levelled just before the interval when Wayne Stewart scored from a chance set up by Phil Murray.

Iain Downie restored Cramlington’s lead with a fine header from Graham Hogg’s corner kick and almost immediately Andrew Carr slotted in a third goal for the hosts after racing onto Jordan Watson’s through ball. With only three minutes remaining Stocksfield seemed to be down and out but they were rescued by a late brace claimed by Phil Murray. He bagged his first with a telling touch to Wayne Stewart’s hard-driven cross and a headed pass by Cairns Kettles gave him the opportunity for his vital second, hooked in from barely six yards out.

Meanwhile, in a preliminary round tie in the Kicks Leisure Challenge Cup, Alnwick Town hammered visitors Newcastle University 7-0 to earn themselves a future first round trip to Carlisle City. And at Hillheads a Northern Alliance side was beaten 3-2 by the Liverpool County Premier League in the first round of the FA Carlsberg National League System Cup. The Alliance had Anthony Moran and Andrew Armstrong (penalty) on target but were always second best top the Liverpudlians whose goals were scored by James Croxton, Chris Lester and Francis McIntosh.

DIVISION ONE – HORSFALL IS RUTHERFORD HERO
Amble United are in pole position in the First Division, just ahead of Gateshead Rutherford on goal difference, and the two pace-setters won again as they continued to set a challenging pace.

The Amble lads have won seven of their eight games to date and were happy to beat visitors Whitley Bay A 1-0. The narrowness of the margin didn’t bother United as the Bay failed to get a name on the score sheet for the first time this season. Instead they were sunk by Martin Humble’s 80th minute winner for the home side.

Gateshead Rutherford won much more emphatically and easily retained their hundred percent home record by hammering lowly visitors Berwick United 7-0. Craig Horsfall, a new signing from Heddon, gave Rutherford the lead straight from the kick off and he struck again after only seven minutes. With Berwick always looking vulnerable at the back Horsfall bagged another two goals to take his personal tally to four and the other Gateshead marksmen were Kevin Urwin (2) and Joe Hindmarch.

Both Percy Main and Gosforth Bohemians are in contention at the top end of the table but they had differing fortunes last weekend. While the Main stayed on course there was an upset for the Bohs who lost 3-2 away to up-and-coming Morpeth Sporting Club. Morpeth’s scorers to gain their fifth successive league win were Chris Tate (2) and Richard Latimer while the Gosforth replies came from Harry Tulip and Matthew Owens.

Percy Main picked up another three useful points by beating hosts Seaton Burn 3-1 and ex-Whitley Bay striker Malcolm Morien gave them an interval lead with a venomous strike from outside the area.

Six minutes into the second half Nicky Hara got the Burn back on terms but his goal only served to stir up the visitors.

Ian Lee, another ex-Whitley Bay stalwart, put the Villagers in front again, marking his return to his old club with a clever finish as he lobbed the ball over the home keeper. And for good measure the Main added a third goal to their tally with Steven Shadforth finding the bottom corner of the net when Callum Colback’s effort was blocked.

Wallington are showing signs of improving and a 2-1 victory at Chopwell hoisted them into the top half of the table. Wallington’s Peter Southern and Dave Featherstone had the ball in the net before Andrew Smith got Chopwell off the mark.

Cullercoats however still haven’t recaptured last season’s form and despite having Tom McGuinness, Craig Deighton and Stewart Wright finding the net they were restricted to a 3-3 draw at home to Hebburn Reyrolle.

Newcastle East End made their trip into Cumbria worthwhile by beating Northbank 3-0 and leaving their hosts still seeking their first league point. After suffering three straight defeats themselves the East Enders turned the corner and picked up maximum points thanks to strikes by Sean Graham (2) and Gary Dixon.

Newly-promoted South Shields United were encouraged by their 3-1 win away to freshly-relegated Peterlee Town who had two players sent off. Mark Davies (2) and David Surrey scored for Shields with the Newtowners’ single reply coming from Elliott McQuaid.

DIVISION TWO – STOBSWOOD STUN LEADERS
Wideopen & District are still heading the Second Division table, three points clear of nearest rivals Amble who have a game in hand at their disposal. But the Wideopen lads surrendered their hundred percent record and were beaten 2-0 at home by an impressive Stobswood Welfare outfit. Now in fourth place, the Welfare are enjoying a great run and goals for Paul Smith and Chris Graham put three more points in the bag.

Amble have won seven of their eight games so far and made visitors Cullercoats Custom Planet their latest victims. The Planet have fallen out of orbit and their 4-1 defeat was their sixth successive setback with their only goal supplied by Neil Turner. David Shepherd, Adam Shanks, Wyn Fremlin and Craig Kielty shared Amble’s goals in what was a comfortable victory.

In third place at the moment, North Shields Athletic are set to challenge the teams above them and a 3-2 home win against Newcastle BT was another morale-booster. Goals supplied by Dave McDonald, Gary Farrage and Michael Hall just edged it for the Shieldsmen and cancelled out the strikes of Richard Beverley and Simon Mattock for the visitors.

Neighbours Wallsend Boys Club and Wallsend Town both improved their league positions with identical 1-0 victories. A very youthful Boys Club outfit with two teenagers at the heart of their defence had Rob Nolan scoring on the quarter hour to beat Newcastle Chemfica whose travel woes continued. And Ryan Arnott’s first half goal for hosts Wallsend Town was enough to see off Hexham in an entertaining game.

Deficiencies in the playing surface prompted the referee to cancel Whitley Bay Town’s home game against Cramlington Blue Star while Forest Hall featured in a 3-3 thriller with visitors Swalwell who were happy to see the end of a three-match losing streak. Forest Hall’s goals were supplied by Kevin Baldwin, Jamie Gilbert and Mike Sandberg with Swalwell’s replies shared by Jonathan Graham, Chris Smith and Andrew Scott.

Willington Quay Saints are unbeaten in their last four outings and their 4-1 home win against Tynemouth United extended the promising sequence. Strikes by Glen Gallon, David Gibson and Colin Ancrum had the Saints cruising at the start of the second half. Chris Grieves got Tynemouth off the mark but even after earlier scorer Gallon was red-carded, Willington were still superior and had substitute Gareth Pugh completing their tally.