Spennymoor A continued their great start to the season when they retained their unbeaten record by beating the visiting title contenders, Fishburn A in the decider.
The Moors raced into a two-nil lead with wins from Paul Biddle and Paul Atkinson but Fishburn levelled through Brian Quest and John Carter. In the decider, the Moors, Eddie Rhodes beat Wayne Oliver.
Cockton Hill moved level on points at the top with Spennymoor A after they only dropped one point to the visiting Meadowfield, who had Craig Hughes as their only winner when he took the final frame. The winners for the Hill were Kevin Mordica with a 30 break, Andrew Aisbitt with a 51 break, Lee Taylor and George Chapman.
In a key battle, which will certainly have bearing on the Championship destination, Wheatley Hill A beat the visiting champions, Old Shildon in the decider. Jossie Aldworth put the visitors ahead but Alan Hall and Dean Bryden won for the home side. Charlie Blake put in a 35 break to level the match, but Wheatley Hill went to victory when Jack Wright beat Steven Bennett in the decider. Both teams now trail the joint leaders by two points.
Brandon slipped a point behind the joint thirds place teams when they went down at home to Sherburn Village, who never led until Peter McGowan beat John Hall in the decider. Graeme Jackson put Brandon ahead but Alan Greener levelled. Brian Graham restored the home lead only to see Michael Crisp set up the decider.
Newton Aycliffe gave their league placing a boost when they only dropped one point on their visit to Witton Gilbert, who have slipped down to share the bottom spot in the table. Ian Renwick gave Witton a good start but from that point the visited took over with wins from Bill Barrigan, Stuart Neil, Simon Tweddle and John Briddick.
Shotton Palms came from behind to beat their hosts at Willington by the odd point. Tom Parkin put the home side ahead with Paul Hickman levelling. Arthur Goldsborough restored the home lead but John Armstrong pulled Shotton back level. In the decider Shotton's Barry Hall beat Stan Bennett on the final black.
Newhouse A retained their unbeaten record and the top spot in the Second Division when they only dropped one point on their visit to Stanley Central, who had Walter Cornell as their only winner. The Newhouse winners were John Maddox, Steve Mountain, Harry Dinsdale and Ian Dinsdale.
Wingate shot up into second place with two good wins. First they visited Crowtrees A to play their postponed match from last week and edged through to victory in the decider and then beat the visiting Langley Park for the loss of only one point.
Wingate shot into a 2-0 lead at Crowtrees with wins from Steve Allen and Jim Mason but Neil Phillips and Sonny Hann levelled. In the decider Crowtree's Peter Laverick left Geoff Howe needing a snooker on the brown, which the visitor succeeded in getting and followed up to clear the table to win.
Langley Park's only point at Wingate came when Paul Nord won, but the home side went to victory with wins from John Bourne, Geoff Howe, Steve Allen and Jim Mason.
Hunwick A slipped from a leading position in the Second Division when they only took one point from their visit to Ferryhill. Only Des Mason was a point scorer for Hunwick as Neil Spender, Bernie Jones, Adrian Jones with a 31 break and Steve Wray took the home side to victory.
Bearpark retained their unbeaten Second Division record when they beat the visiting Crowtrees by the odd point to stay three points behind the leaders, Newhouse. Shaun Easter, David Jackson with a 43 break and Alan Smith won for the home side with Sonny Hann and Keith McLauchlan replying.
Sacriston moved to the top of the Third Division for the first time since rejoining the league when they only dropped one point at Leeholme B, who had Lee Todd as their only winner. The visitors had wins from Steve Bradley, Mark Appleby, Alan Richardson and Dale Evans.
Durham City moved up a point behind Sacriston after they only dropped one point at New Durham, who had Gordon Bowes as their only winner. The City's winners were Brian Dunn, Michael Pratt, Eric Wright and Paul McClean.
Coundon stayed in touch with the leading Third Division teams when only Lawrence Jones of the visiting Leeholme A scored a point. The Coundon winners were Frank Nicholson, Mally Ryder, Gary Goulbourn and Willy Shoulder.
Crook Belle Vue also stayed within range of the top team when they only dropped one point at Crowtrees B. John Hall played a captain's part for the home side to land their lone point, whilst Ken Rider, Gordon Sample, John warriner and Derek Potts won for the Crook team.
Tow Law won by the odd point at Fishburn B with wins from Charlie Donaghy, Tommy Williams and Alan Spence putting them 3-1 ahead as only Winston Hodgson had won for the home side. In the final frame Heppell Hodgson, for the Lawyers, looked to have made the frame safe but Michael Bell came with a great clearance to win by one point on the black and make the score line respectable.
Results: Fishburn B 2 Tow Law 3; Wingate 4 Langley Park 1; Spennymoor A 3 Fishburn A 2; Leeholme B 1 Sacriston 4; Willington 2 Shotton Palms 3; Wheatley Hill A 3 Old Shildon 2; New Durham 1 Durham City 4; Stanley Central 1 Newhouse 4; Brandon 2 Sherburn Village 3; Coundon 4 Leeholme A 1; Bearpark 3 Crowtrees 2; Cockton Hill 4 Meadowfield 1; Crowtrees B 1 Crook Belle Vue 4; Ferryhill 4 Hunwick A 1; Witton Gilbert 1 Newton Aycliffe 4. Re-arranged - Crowtrees A 2 Wingate 3. No result - Belmont v Spennymoor B.
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