Coxhoe Athletic earned a valuable point in a 2-2 draw away to a strong Hartlepool Town outfit.
The match was only in progress for two minutes when Coxhoe got the first break. A clearance found Andrew Soppitt deep in the Hartlepool half who went on to beat the keeper. After 30 minutes Coxhoe's Gary O'Hara gave away a penalty for Chris Birkbeck to score from the spot but O'Hara made amends scoring with a perfect free kick from 20 yards to put Coxhoe 2-1 up. However, another blunder by Coxhoe's defence gave away another penalty in the 85th minute allowing Birkbeck to get his second goal and the equaliser.
Whitehill FC won the three points with a 2-0 home win over Seaham Mallard. They were in front in the first minute after a mighty clearance found Kevin Coates who went on to chip the ball over the advancing keeper. Whitehill increased their lead when a perfect cross found Justin Robson who beat the keeper with a volley from 18 yards.
Seaham Town Community beat Shildon Railway 2-1. The teams were evenly matched with the result decided in the first half. Seaham took the lead when veteran forward Darren Bleasdale chipped the ball over Shildon's keeper. Tim Hole equalised, tapping the ball home eight minutes later. A cracking free kick by Stephen Frater from 25 yards earned the points for Seaham.
Belford House trounced Ebchester FC 7-0 with goals from David Scott, John Coggin, Martin Deacon and two each from Mark Green and Joe Holborn.
Durham City Reserves kept up their winning steak, beating Birtley Town Reserves 3-1. They took the lead in the 25th minute. John Wardle received the ball down the middle then went on to slot the ball past the keeper and a half volley from 20 yards by Barry Cook made it 2-0. Jason Armstrong reduced the arrears for Birtley, scoring with a free kick 25 yards out. Durham's Michael Conlon made it 3-1 when he beat the keeper from 20 yards.
Goals from Michael Fort, David Fort, Graham Stobbs and Paul Gill, earned three points for Brandon Prince Bishop in their 4-0 win away to Durham University putting them second in the league, two points behind Durham City Reserves with a game in hand.
Durham Victoria Bridge progressed to the next round of the Clem Smith Bowl with a 2-1 win over Gateshead A. Kane Hobson put them in front with a fine header from a cross by Jeff Holliday. Gateshead drew level when David Lowry beat the keeper from eight yards. Kane Hobson got the second for Durham in the second half of extra time with a simple tap in.
Saturday's results: Belford House FC 7 Ebchester FC 0, Coxhoe Athletic 2 Hartlepool Town 2, Durham City Afc Res. 3 Birtley Town Res. 1, Durham University FC 0 Brandon Prince Bishop 4, Seaham Town Community FC 2 Shildon Railway FC 1, Whitehill FC 2 Seaham Mallard 0.
Clem Smith Bowl round one: Durham Victoria Bridge 2 Gateshead A 1.
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