Premier League Cup semi-finals, Supporters 1 Lion Hillcarter 5: Lion comfortably defeated Supporters to reach the final of the league cup.

Anthony Lund struck the first blow for the visitors when he stabbed the ball home following good work by Stu Dixon.

Dixon got on the scoresheet when he added his side's second just before the half time whistle went.

It was more of the same after the interval, as Dixon scored again, followed by Lund, to put Lion out of sight at 4-0 up.

The icing was put on the cake by a 30-yard blockbuster from Darren Griffiths and despite a late consolation goal from the penalty spot, it was Lion who easily progressed to the final.

Burn Valley 1 Rovers 0

David Watson was the difference between the two sides and his breathtaking goal sent Burn Valley into the final after overcoming a strong Rovers team, who were knocked out of a cup competition at the semi-final stage for the third time this season.

They also lost in the John Dowson and in the Durham County Cup at the same stage

Both sides had several chances early on and the deadlock was broken on the half-hour, when Watson volleyed home following a ten-man move, which took Burn Valley from one end of the pitch to the other.

Try as they did, it wasn't to be for Rovers, who were booted out of the John Dowson cup by Second Division Seaton Holy Trinity last week, as they hit the bar twice and had no fewer than nine attempts cleared off the line.

Premier Division

Blackhall Breathless 1 Sports Bar 0

Blackhall continued their excellent debut season in the Premiership with a hard-fought win over Sports Bar.

Both defences shone with Paul Combey defying the advancing years with a commanding performance for the colliery side.

The only goal of the game came courtesy of an own goal, which was created thanks to good work from Andrew Harrison.

Best for the visitors were Gavin Cooper and Mark Dixon, while for the Hall, the consistent Martin Brown again stood out as the most skilful player on the pitch, and there were also good displays from David Mole and Paul Stephenson.

Welfare Cosmopolitan 0 Ath. Rugby 3

Alan Hoey was the main reason that all three points went to Athletic as his double strike sunk the Cosmopolitan outfit.

The away team started the better and it wasn't long before they took the lead, when ex-Hartlepool United trainee Stephen Manson was fouled on the edge of the box following a mazy dribble.

Hoey expertly converted the free kick round the wall and into the back of the net to give Athletic the early advantage.

The second half saw plenty of chances coming at either end, with Athletic creating the more clear-cut opportunities.

It was that man Hoey who grabbed his and his side's second, after neat set-up play from John Sutheran.

Paul Fraser made the game safe, when he tapped home after Mark O'Connor's clever free kick was parried by Robert Archer.

Best for Athletic were Neil Murray, Fraser and Marc Batey, while for Cosmo's, Archer and Chris Andrews were the star men.

Division One

Corner Flag 0 Nursery 4

An entertaining game which saw Nursery leave Corner Flag rooted to the bottom of the league table.

The visitors started the game the better and it was no surprise when Neil Swift chalked first, followed by Mark Peterson.

Further strikes from Anthony Young and Mick Laidler made the game safe for Nursery, against a Flag side which never gave up and gained little reward for their sterling efforts.

Best for Flag were Steven Hay and Paul Clouston, while Swift and Karl Fraser were the standouts for Nursery.

Greatham Bull and Dog 2 Rugby 0

A pugnacious midfield battle was the talking point from this hard-fought encounter at Greatham.

The battle of the centre of the park was just edged out by the home side, which was pivotal in their 2-0 victory.

Richie Boddy struck the first goal after showing a surprisingly deft touch and the second goal came courtesy of super-sub Mick Hutchinson, who spun on a sixpence to ram home the decider. Visiting keeper Stewart Hind suffered a blow to the head in the process as he crashed to the floor and banged his head on a defender's shin.

In between the goals, the ever-willing Andrew Shaw planted a free header over the bar from four yards and keeper Scott Llewellyn pulled off three fine saves to keep out Rugby. Best for Rugby were Simon Oates and skipper Nick Loughlin, who gave a dominant Terry Butcher-style performance at the heart of the defence.

For Bull and Dog, Boddy, Paul Davis and Alan Harll stood out.

Travellers Rest 2 Corporation Welf. 3

Corporation won by the odd goal in five after another Lazarus-style comeback.

Craig Mitchelson scored his first goal of the campaign to put the visitors a goal up before the prolific John Paul Tumilty chalked again to put his side 2-0 up.

Travellers performed a fine comeback of their own in the second period and were level thanks to goals from Nick Appleyard and Liam Prosser.

Their hearts were broken late on, however, when Robbie Durham won the game with his 13th goal of the season to send the Corporation fans into transports of delight.

Tunstall Old Boys 1 Odessa 3

Odessa got back to winning ways with a stylish win over a plucky Tunstall outfit.

Jonathan Crone opened the scoring when he pounced on a mistake from a home defender to put Odessa a goal up at the break.

In the second half, Paul Martin increased the visitor's lead, before Tunstall hit back with a goal of their own.

The points were made safe when Andrew Burton showed he's got bags more buzz with a stylish finish, tailor-made to bag all three points for Odessa.

Throston Wand. 2 Hartlepool CC 7

The Cricketers ran up a cricket score against their hapless hosts with Glen Coltman going nap.

Coltman opening the batting for the visitors with the first goal of this entertaining contest and it wasn't long before he chalked up his second goal of the evening.

Throston pulled a goal back and then the cricketers were reduced to ten men, but this had little effect on the destiny of this particular game.

Coltman scored a further three goals to take his tally to five and he even had time to take the cigar out of his back pocket and set up John Wood to score his side's seventh.

Throston scored a late consolation, but it was the cricketers who declared their scoring and played out the remaining minutes of the game with aplomb.

Division Two

Fens 5 Seaton Holy Trinity 3

Hit man Chris Archer's superb hat-trick brought cup giant killers back down to earth with a bump in this top-of-the-table clash.

Archer, despite being hindered by injury opened the scoring early doors before Seaton hit back with two goals from Ian McDonough and Tommy Swift.

After the interval, David Millican equalised before Seaton went ahead again thanks to Robert Thompson in the see saw encounter.

Phil Gorman levelled for the hosts before that man Archer arrowed in two more goals to give Fens a memorable win.

Best for Fens was keeper Steve Young who played really well despite a dicky tummy.

King John's Tavern 1 St Francis 1

Highflying St Francis were held to a draw by a battling Tavern side.

Gareth Wallace gave KJT's an early boost when he thundered home a great goal, but despite intense pressure the home side couldn't increase their lead.

This was to prove crucial as an own goal levelled for St Francis to give both sides a share of the spoils.

Best for KJT's were Andy Fletcher, Robert Ingram and 'The Rock' Jason Harrison.

Clarendon 1 Engineers 0

Martin Waggott was Johnny-on-the-spot as his scuffed goal was the deciding factor in this turgid encounter.

Both teams struggled on a difficult surface, which scuppered their usually fluid and precise passing games.

Best for Engineers were David Parkinson and Robert Gibbins, while best for Clarendon was Stuart Morrow, who ended the game with a heavy cold.

Athletic Millhouse 3 Moorcock 1

A comfortable win for Millhouse against bottom-of-the-table Peterlee side Moorcock.

Ryan Ward and Craig Thompson put the home side into an early lead, which was never relinquished thanks to some battling play in the middle of the park.

John Butterfield pulled a goal back after some excellent work from Mark Stuart, to give Moorcock some hope after the interval.

It was to prove a false dawn, however, as Mr Bean - Shane Bean - wriggled his way through a static defence to make the game safe.

Best for the home side were Ward, Bean and Gary Hansford.

TMD Friction 1 Workingmen's Club 1

A hard-fought contest saw the spoils and the points shared by both sides.

Lee Aird equalised for the visitors after TMD had taken a first half lead from Chris Wood. Best for TMD were Chris Kelly, Micky Lloyd and Brian Emmerson, while Michael Ireland, and the magnificent Scott Green again shone for Workies.