The Northern Echo Darlington Sunday Invitation League

Meanwhile, East End WMC took advantage of Newton Aycliffe Sports Clubs game against Bishop Auckland Cricket Club being postponed, as the EastEnders moved back into second place in the table following their game against bottom side Brinkburn. East End moved into an early lead thanks to a goal from John Banks, and Neil Godfrey doubled that lead just before the break as the hosts made the difference in quality between the two sides show. However, Brinkburn came out fighting after the break, and they were soon back into the game as Scott Bowler struck to reduce the deficit to 2-1. However, a Steve Johnson strike midway through the half finally killed off the Brinkburn's resistance as he made the final score 3-1 to East End.

Elsewhere in the top flight, Nestfield Club lost ground on the top sides as they were held to a 4-4 draw by Spraire, whilst The Northern Echo were slaughtered 6-1 by Hurworth - a result which leaves the Echo nine points adrift of safety with only seven games left to save themselves from the drop.

In Division Two, Jack Horners pulled off the result of the day as goals from Michael Thraves and David Scott gave the Jacks an impressive 2-1 away victory over AFC Orange. Chris Wardell struck Orange's goal, but the loss now leaves Orange five points behind second placed Killinghall Arms, having played four more games than their rivals.

Meanwhile, Killinghall came out on top in the game between the top two sides in the division, as they ran out 5-1 victors against leaders All Stars. Neil Mathias and Michael Laxton both notched a brace for the Killy, whilst Steven Rodgers hit the visitors fifth. Darren Kokes struck the goal for All Stars, but the result leaves Killinghall as the only unbeaten side in the division, and they now find themselves only nine points behind All Stars with five games in hand as the race for the second division championship really starts to take shape.

Elsewhere, Bishop Auckland Derby remain in fourth place following an impressive 11-2 away victory against a Sadberge side that look odds-on favourites to be playing third division football next season. Darren Dye and Wayne King both notched hat-tricks for The Derby, whilst Glen Thompson (2), Dale Jardine, Michael Latcham and Kevin McCormick also found the back of the Sadberge net. Mike Hillary and Gary Bowman struck the goals for a Sadberge side that are six points adrift at the bottom of the table.

In the remaining games in Division Two, Yates Wine Lodge and Copper Beech DCS played out a 3-3 draw, whilst goals from Lee Willis (2), Fred Wood (2) and Mike Brough gave Green Dragon a 5-3 victory over a Grey Horse side that had Mark Thompson, Gary Donald and Dominic Rich to thank for their goals.

Finally, Royal British Legion picked up a 4-1 victory over a Canney Hill side that are becoming increasingly haunted by the spectre of relegation.

Mick Meredith and Trevor Cooke both struck twice to give the Legion all three points, whilst David Goss hit the Canney Hill consolation goal.

In Division Three, Pepper Draughting Services maintained their canter to the title with a 4-1 victory over a spirited Cricketers side. The Cricketer's gave their hosts an early shock, however, as Kev Brown put them into a lead within the opening quarter of an hour, which they managed to hold until half time. The second half was a completely different story though, as Graham Pepper fired his troops and goals from Mark Stephenson, Lee Hammond and David Turnbull turned the game on its head. Stephenson added the fourth.

Meanwhile, with FR Aviation's clash against Middleton St George falling victim to the elements, Hope Inn closed the gap between second and third place with a 7-0 victory over bottom of the pack Smith & Allan.

Elsewhere, Pizza Perfekt and AXA Insurance found their game postponed, whilst fifth placed Drinkfield United ran out as unconvincing 2-1 victors over struggling Newton Cap, whilst Haughton BAT continued their recent good form as they won by the same scoreline in a tight game against Royal Oak.

It was the Oak that started the stronger, however, as they applied some stern pressure to put Haughton on the back foot from the outset. However, the hosts eventually came into the game, and a slick passing move lead to their first goal as Oak defender Simon York conceded a penalty as he was foxed by Karl Lockwood's neat turn in the area. Lee Walden Vincent stepped up to calmly send Oak 'keeper Preston Slade the wrong way with the spot kick. The Oak were stunned back into life though, and they were shortly back on level terms as their constant pressure was rewarded when Stu Boughen tapped the ball home from close range following a well worked free-kick.

The second half saw much of the same with both teams scrapping for a winner, but it was Haughton who found the winner as Paul Colman raced past the Oak defence before calmly placing the ball past the on-rushing 'keeper to steal victory.

Meanwhile, Sherwoods racked up a 4-3 away victory against a Falchion side that are falling like a rock down the table after their impressive start to the season. Sherwoods took the lead when Peter Taylor took advantage of the Falchion's keeper, Rob Burnside's, failure to deal with a harmless through ball. This woke the Falchion up as they dominated the last half hour of the first hal, but let chance after chance go amiss. After the break Sherwoods again started the stronger but against run of play James Gilby pulled things level.

It didn't last long, however, when hesitation from Burnside allowed Taylor to grab his second. Gary Barker then made it 3-1 when he turned a cross from the left that should have been cleared. James Benson pulled one back and then he added a second. The Falchion pressed hard to find a winner but Sherwoods, with five minutes to go, claimed all three points when Jason Blenkinsop lobbed the keeper.

Emcor picked up an impressive 6-0 victory over rivals Aruba.

Emcor once more started a game dynamically, as Darren Scott gave the hosts the lead after only 34 seconds. Scott then took advantage of some shaky defending from Aruba to make the score 2-0 midway through the half. Aruba finally started to get a foothold in the game, and almost got back into it on the stroke of half time, only for Emcor 'keeper Trev Shingler to thwart their attack with a brave save that lead to him needing treatment for quite some time before he bravely continued.

The second half started in much the same way as the first, with Emcor enjoying the lions share of possession and notching an early goal, as Stu Fawcett struck a wonderfully controlled volley from the edge of the area.

Emcor were just too strong for the visitors, with Fawcett adding another two goals to complete his hat-trick before Sid Seddon completed the scoring as his speculative effort from 20 yards out crept under the bar to make the final score 6-0 to Emcor.