This week has seen most teams play twice yet again as the first round of the divisional Cups draw to a close following some exciting midweek games.

In the Darlington & Stockton Times Division One Cup, a very young Spraire RA side confirmed their place in the quarter finals as they cruised past a Nestfield side that need to beat East End WMC in their final group game to have a chance of progressing. Andrew Blenkhorn put Spraire on the way to victory with a looping header midway through the first half, before a Chris Falconer brace in the second half made the tie secure. Adrian Weston notched Nestfield's sole reply as Spraire ran out 3-1 victors.

Elsewhere in the Division One Cup, Coundon Foresters beat Newton Aycliffe Sports Club 2-0 in a re-run of last seasons League Cup final, thanks to goals from Rob Mazur and man of the match Martin Houlahan. Central WMC, meanwhile, guaranteed their place in the hat for the quarter final draw with a 6-3 victory over Brinkburn thanks to goals from Tony Stafford (3), Roy Winter, John Banks and Callum Reilly. Dave Wilson, Rob Creek and Chris Marksby found the back of the net for Brinkburn.

In the only remaining Division One Cup game, Bishop Auckland Cricket Club ended Newton Aycliffe Iron Horse's interest in the competition with a comprehensive 6-1 victory. Ross Hardaker (2), Michael Dixon, Michael Barker, Damian Callahan and Kevin Slater found the net for the visitors, whilst Flor Kerins notched for the Iron Horse.

In the Darlington Motor Factors Division Two Cup, All Stars progressed to the quarter finals as their 5-0 victory over Copper Beech DCS also secured Yates Wine Lodges place in the hat. Stephen Wake notched an excellent hat-trick for the All Stars, and Darren Kokes and Michael Lancaster also found the net in a one-sided affair. Meanwhile, Bishop Auckland Derby picked up an impressive 5-2 victory over Sadberge DL whilst Canney Hill and Grey Horse played out a 1-1 draw which secures Killinghall Arms' place in the next round before their final group game. Gary Preston notched for the Grey Horse whilst Tom Hibbits struck the Canney Hill goal.

In the Killinghall Arms Division Three Cup, a no-show by FR Aviation saw AXA Insurance progress into the next round by way of a bye, and they'll face the Hope Inn in the quarter finals after they demolished Smith & Allan 23-0.

Elsewhere, a spirited performance from Emcor saw them run out as 3-2 victors over a much-improved Cricketers side. The Cricketers, however, set the early pace as Andrew Davies opened the scoring with a near post corner that was just reward for their good early football. Soon after the break that lead was doubled as Scott Marks broke through the Emcor defence to put the Cricketers in the driving seat. However, Danny Marshall soon got the home side back into the game as he rounded the Cricketers keeper to slot home from a tight angle. Gary Brown then notched a late equaliser to push the tie towards extra time before Nigel Todd broke Cricketers hearts with an 89th minute winner for Emcor.

Elsewhere, Drinkfield United also made the quarter-finals as they bypassed Falchion in a late-night penalty shoot-out after the tie had finished 3-3 after extra time.

Drinkfield's opponents will be Middleton St George Cricket Club who also hit three past AFC Aruba in a 3-2 victory. Pepper's Draughting Services, meanwhile booked a quarter final tie against Emcor as they defeated Haughton BAT 5-2.

The final quarter-final tie will take place between Pizza Perfekt and the Royal Oak as both sides eased through their first round games. The Pizzaboyz made an impressive start to their game against Sherwoods, which saw them go into the break 3-0 ahead as Mark Geldard, Michael Weston and Carl Batty took advantage of some generous defending by Sherwoods. The second half saw a better performance from the visitors as Sherwoods carried the game to the home team. However, Perfekt stood strong and Michael Weston notched his second of the game to secure a 4-0 victory late in the game.

The Royal Oak, meanwhile, made even lighter work of Newton Cap, despite falling behind to a Wayne North strike in the opening ten minutes. A quick-fire hat trick from Stu Boughen soon had the Oak in control, whilst Simon York also notched twice in the first half as the visitors led 5-1 at the break despite missing two penalties. Dean Scott took advantage of some casual defending by the Cap to make the score 6-1 before Neil Jollie put a finish to a mazy run through the Cap defence, albeit at the second attempt after his initial shot was parried. Carl Mansfield then hit the Oak's eighth of the game as his drive from the edge of the box bobbled over the Cap keeper thanks to a handy divot. Newton Cap kept plugging away, however, and Shaun Hunter scored with a thunderous drive from outside the box in the dying minutes as the Oak ran out 8-2 victors.

Sunday's games saw a return to league action for all the sides involved in the Cup, and also saw the return of Jack Horners as the league committee accepted their application to be reinstated into the league following their resignation on the eve of the new season.

However, their reinstatement has come with a price of a three-point deduction that could prove valuable come the end of the season.

Meanwhile, on paper, the match of the day was the game between Newton Aycliffe Sports Club and Nestfield Club who were both riding high at the top of Division One following both teams 100 per cent starts to the season. However, the fact of the matter was that the Sports Club completely dominated a game that they went on to win 7-0 to move to the top of the table, thanks to goals from John Shotton (2), Karl Black (2), Arron Robson, Paul Hind and Paul Stout.

League champions Coundon Foresters are sitting in second place, however, as the only other team in the top flight to have won all of their first three games. Sunday saw the Foresters travel to Newton Aycliffe Iron Horse, with the home side rooted to the bottom of the table, and the game went with form as the Foresters ran out 15-1 victors. Former Darlington striker Lee Ellison top-scored for the Foresters with five goals, whilst Darren Wilson notched four and Steven Butler hit a hat-trick whilst Kevin Bromley (2) and Keith Emerson completed the scoring. Andrew Alderson notched for the Iron Horse, but it was no more than a consolation with the home team 10-0 behind at the time.

Spraire RA are in third place despite a 3-0 defeat to newly-promoted Hurworth Albion on Sunday and East End WMC are in fourth after their 4-3 victory over Northern Echo. Jason and Neil Jackson both grabbed two goals each for the Eastenders whilst Adrian Kersley, Andrew Parks and Craig Maddison notched the Echo goals.

In the remaining first division games both Shuttle & Loom and Bishop Auckland Cricket Club picked up victories. The Cricket Club were 3-2 victors over Central WMC, whilst the Shuttle & Loom were 2-0 winners against Brinkburn thanks to Paul Hutchinson and Terry Greenstreet goals.

In Division Two, All Stars are three points after their 6-1 victory over Royal British Legion on Sunday maintained their 100 per cent record. Darren Kokes started the scoring for All Stars midway through the first half as he moved onto a fine pass from William Tutty, but the Legion struck back almost immediately as David Taylor put a good finish to a smart Legion move down the right flank. The All Stars pressure was too much though, and Ryan Sandwick put them 2-1 ahead before both Kokes and Sandwick hit their second goals each as the away side moved 4-1 ahead at the break.

The second half saw more of the same as the away side made several changes and their fresh legs were too much as substitute Michael Bland hit a brace to make the final score 6-1 to All Stars.

Meanwhile, second placed Grey Horse could only manage to field nine men and subsequently fell to a 4-0 defeat to Canney Hill. Gary Varty, John Nunn, Tom Hibbits and Richard Elliott notched for the visitors, but it wasn't an easy ride as the home side restrained Canney Hill to only one goal in the first half and only succumbed when another player has to leave the field with an injury to leave the home side with eight men.

Jack Horners season finally kicked off against third placed Bishop Auckland Derby but, despite a glut of players and a commendable show of commitment, the Derby side were just too strong for their hosts as they cruised to a 6-1 victory. Kevin McCormick, Darren Dye and Wayne King all notched two each for the Derby whilst Leon Russell hit the Jacks goal.

Elsewhere in the second division a ten-man Yates' side fell two goals behind to AFC Orange in the opening five minutes as Chris Wardell and new-signing Mark Finn both notched for Orange. However, Chris Chadwick got a goal back for Yates' just before the break and their pressure paid off as Orange failed to clear a second half corner and Graham Keay equalised. However, Orange's extra man proved to be too much and Martin Allinson got the crucial goal to give Orange a deserved three points.

An Alan Gowling hat-trick sealed the points for Copper Beech DCS against Sadberge DL. Darren Johnson also hit the target for the Beech as they ran out 4-2 victors, with Paul Wilkinson and Tristan Alltimes notching for Sadberge.

In Division Three, Pepper Draughting Services remain the team to beat as their 7-1 victory over AXA Insurance sees them with maximum points and a plus 24 goal difference after only four games.

Second placed Hope Inn found they aren't going to get everything their own way this season as they were beaten 5-0 by FR Aviation. Thompson gave the home side an early advantage as he put a left foot to a through ball from Metcalf, and the Hope Inn then found themselves reduced to ten men as Sheridan was given his marching orders. However the Hope continued to push forward, and only a smart save from Briggs in the Aviators goal maintained their lead before Thompson pounced on a defensive blunder to make the score 2-0 at the break. The second half continued in much the same way as the Hope pushed forward and left gaps for the Aviators to exploit which they did clinically with Freary notching twice after cutting in from the right hand side. Hope Inn tempers began to fray however as Jenkinson was dismissed to leave the visitors with nine men, and after Freary completed his hat-trick with the final goal of the game there was still time for the Hope's frustration to get the better of them with Sheridan being the third of the visitors to see red - a situation that will cost the Hope Inn both in the pocket and in team selection when the offenders suspensions kick in.

In the remaining division three games AFC Aruba moved into third place in the league as they defeated a woeful Royal Oak 3-1 thanks to goals from Holt, Gardner and Colclough. Simon York notched a penalty for an Oak side that are still looking for their first victory of the season. Elsewhere, The Falchion moved into fourth thanks to a 7-1 victory over Newton Cap, and Middleton St George Cricket Club make up the top five as they trounced Smith & Allan 13-0.

The Cricketers and Pizza Perfekt remain in the bottom half of the league after they played out a 2-2 draw, whilst Drinkfield United picked up all three points as they beat Sherwoods 6-1, and Emcor defeated Haughton BAT 5-0.

T M Disco Crook and District League

Crook White Swan and Wearhead struggled last year but they share top spot after five games of the new season. Darren Deuchars (2), Robert Punshion and Lee Airey scored for White Swan who defeated Roddymoor 4-1. The losers replied through Wilson Brown and had Chris Pounder sent off during their first league defeat.

Graham Walker and Paul Storey put Wearhead two up at home to Evenwood White Swan. Chris Fairless added a third just before half time and Michael Coulthard made it 4-0 with a direct free kick. Wearhead remain unbeaten and Evenwood have yet to win.

Byers Green St Peters are having a much better season and William Dougdale gave them the lead at home to Howden Australian. Craig Robson equalised but a late Ian Brown penalty gave Byers Green a very good 2-1 win.

Malcolm Umpleby notched a hat-trick for Tow Law Cattle Mart who drew 4-4 at Willington WMC. Paul Hurton scored the fourth for the Mart who led 4-2 in the second half. Peter Franks, Shane Sugden and Malcolm McWilliams replied for the Club who have gone three games without a win.