Chester-le-Street: Chester's hopes of reaching the Durham Challenge Cup Final were dashed as a very well drilled and strong Winlaton side from the division above took underdogs Chester apart in the first half with a fine display of running rugby.

From the off, Winlaton stifled the Chester forwards in the middle of the park and shipped the ball both left and right to run in a quick succession of tries. The Chester team were valiant in their efforts but the immense strength and skill of the Winlaton side flowed in abundance. Within 20 minutes Chester were 29 points down. Many a team would have thrown in the towel at this point but not Chester, who continued to try and break the Winlaton defences and finished the first half with the Vulcan's on the back foot. Chester started the second half with all guns blazing and it wasn't long before they had their first points on the board. After some fine forward play in the middle of the park the ball was spun out to Alan Telford who jinked his way through the Winlaton defence to touch down in the corner. Unfortunately Telford's kick at goal went just wide.

The Chester forwards of Langley,O Conner, Evans, Bainbridge and Wilson were starting to win the midfield battle of the forwards and Chester's backrow of Dobbs, Dale and Stephenson were beginning to pile the pressure on there opposite numbers. Chester replaced fullback Brett Davies with Graham Roberts and within 10 minutes Roberts showed exceptional skill to charge the line and touch down for Chesters second score. The resulting kick at goal fell wide. Laws entered the fray for Langley in the front row but his game was cut short when he and Telford made a double try saving tackle in the corner to prevent what looked a simple try for Winlaton. The resulting mess saw the ref not allowing Laws to continue due to a badly gashed knee and Telford had to leave the field with a twisted ankle.Chester were still piling on the pressure but they were simply running out of time and it was in the middle of another excellent attack up field that the final whistle sealed Chester's fate, a 29-10 defeat. If Chester had had a bit more time on the clock this games result could have been so different, Chester lost the first 30 minutes but won the next 60. Captain, Scott Milne can take heart from this performance and the pride and passion that the Chester players showed.

Next week sees a double header at the Riverside with two home games as Chester 1st VX entertain Medicals in their last home league match of the season (3pm) while the second team are playing host to a touring side from Staffordshire, also at the Riverside (3pm).

Bishop Auckland Colts

Bishop Auckland Under-17s won an exciting game against Seaton Carew. The home side withstood early pressure and opened the scoring, writes MALCOLM PRATT.

After winning a ruck, Bishops passed the ball through the hands of fly half Richard Macnair and inside centre James Thompson who made space to allow winger Luke Crossing to burst through and score the first try which was converted by Macnair.

From the kick-off, however, a defensive mistake allowed Seaton Carew back into the game and a converted try levelled the scores at 7-7.

Bishops were soon back on the attack with some excellent commitment from forwards Gareth Edwards, Kris Poskett and scrumhalf Mark Turner.

The home regained the lead when Edwards picked up from the base of the scrum and fed Turner to run in for a try which was converted by MacNair.

Bishops remained in control and improved their advantage when Turner fed MacNair who was able to pass out of a tackle to supporting hooker Steven Denton to score. MacNair again converted to increase the lead to 21-7 at half time.

Bishops started the second half strongly and kept the visitors pinned in defence. Strong scrummaging and defensive work were rewarded when Bishops Thompson picked up a loose pass and crossed the line for their fourth try. Again Macnair was successful with the kick, extending Bishops lead to 28-7.

By now Bishops were in full control and although fullback Simon Kay looked like he was away to score after a 50-metre run, he was bravely tackled. The home side then allowed the gap to close to 28-21 with two late converted tries but they hung on to record an excellent and well-deserved victory.