It has been a bad three months for the league with lots of fixtures lost to the weather and additionally three of the Durham teams have struggled to get teams out causing further cancellations.
After several weeks of only odd games getting played, three matches were played this week, with the other two postponed for genuine reasons.
Durham Fire caused an upset in the League Cup when they beat league leaders, Langbaurgh 4-0. The visitors kicked off with nine men due to late arriving players and paid the penalty when Simon Waggott blasted in a goal within the first two minutes. The arrival of the extra players saw no upturn in fortune for the leaders. Durham Fire had the upper hand and doubled their lead, when a mis-hit clearance fell to Mark Harrison who chipped the keeper from fully 35 yards. Tempers frayed and a lenient ref allowed both teams to retain their full compliment of players. The Fire team struck for a third time when Colin Jones converted a penalty after Steve Holcroft was adjudged to have been tripped. The second half settled down and Durham Fire wrapped up the win when Jones converted a second penalty. Stockton or Durham HQ await the Fire team in the semi final.
Tyne and Wear Fire progressed in the same competition, but in a much delayed first round tie. They defeated Easington 2-0 in a hard-fought struggle. Both goals were scored by debutant, Dave Cass-Williams. The defeat may mark the end for Easington as they have struggled all season to field a team.
In the only League game, Newcastle upset the apple cart by beating Stockton 4-2. The home side scored first through Koby Cohen. Lee Clarke equalised before half time. Newcastle found an extra gear in the second half and pulled away with goals from Barrie Joiyce and Craig Murray. Stockton showed their quality by reducing the deficit through Eric Barrett. Newcastle finally secured the points late on when Barrie Joiyce scored his second of the match.
Half of HQ's team are prison officers from Holme House and they were in action in the Prison Cup winning 4-1 in the semi final of the national cup. The Frankland v Derwentside match was cancelled due to a bereavement and out of respect for the Frankland team.
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