Sunday saw the start of the ninth season of the Invitation League that has once more expanded into a new format.

Five new teams have been admitted to the league to make up a Third Division of 16 teams whilst Division One still contains 12 sides. Division Two was also due to contain 12 teams, but unfortunately league founder members Jack Horners were forced to withdraw on the eve of the new season as they were unable to attract enough players.

Sunday may have seen the start of a new season but it was the same old story in Division One as the usual suspects got off to a flying start. Reigning champions Coundon Foresters took maximum points from their game against Brinkburn, but they left it late having thrown away a 3-1 half time lead before a last minute strike saw them snatch a 4-3 victory following an uncharacteristic error from Brinkburn goalkeeper Darren Peacock. Lee Ellison notched two of the Foresters goals whilst Shaun Hope and Rob Mazur grabbed one apiece. Dave Wilson (2) and James Wilkinson scored the Brinkburn goals.

Meanwhile, Newton Aycliffe Sports Club showed last season's Division Two champions Shuttle & Loom that they weren't going to find life as easy in Division One as the Sports Club ran out comfortable 3-1 victors. Spraire RA also picked up a comfortable victory as they beat Central WMC (know as Speedwell last year) 7-1. Man of the match Martin Brown top-scored for Spraire with a hat trick whilst Graham Dodsworth (2), David Walker and Steve Shaw completed the rout. Darren Kacis notched Central's consolation.

Another of the newly promoted sides, Bishop Auckland Cricket Club, also found life in Division One to be far less than a stroll in the park as East End WMC took all three points in the game between the two sides. Neil Jackson rounded the Cricket Club keeper in the opening ten minutes to slot home the EastEnder's first before Stephen Luck flicked home a corner to double the advantage soon after. The Cricket Club became more adventurous as they attempted to reduce the deficit and were rewarded when Harrison tucked away a dubious penalty. However, that was a mere blip for the East End as Shaun Collins put a fine finish to a lovely move by the Clubmen to make the score 3-1 before Neil Jackson completed the scoring with his second of the game shortly before half-time. The second half saw much of the same East End domination, but there were no further goals as the Clubmen settled for a 4-1 victory to start their season.

Hurworth Albion, the third of the promoted sides, also found themselves on the end of a 4-1 reverse as Nestfield Club showed the sort of form that lead to their topping the league for a portion of last season. New signing Adrian Weston notched a hat-trick on his debut whilst Garry Mitchell hit Nestfield's fourth. Gavin Brown struck Hurworth's consolation. In the only remaining game in the top division The Northern Echo ran out as convincing winners over Newton Aycliffe Iron Horse. Goals from Flor Kerins and Trevor Kerins saw the Iron Horse level at 2-2 just before the break, but the superior fitness and quality of the Echo side told as they moved 3-2 up just before half-time and ran out as 8-2 victors. Paul Jackson notched three of the Echo goals whilst Craig Maddison (2), Gary Pallas (2) and John Neilson also found the back of the Iron Horse net.

In Division Two, recently relegated Grey Horse (aka Springfield from last season) were the biggest victors of the day as they showed the sort of quality that could see them go straight back up against newly-promoted Yates' Wine Lodge. Only a Garry Donald goal for the Grey Horse separated the two sides at the break.

But not long after half-time Yates' influential Matt Waistell suffered a broken wrist which held up the game for 20 minutes and his teammates, with only one substitute, were unable to adjust and soon found themselves on the back-foot.

Donald added a second and Gary Preston also notched in the opening ten minutes of the second half before Preston added a second. Neil Walker notched and, despite a Graham Keay consolation, the game finished 7-1 to the Grey Horse as Walker notched a second and substitute Ian Frazer also scored.

Elsewhere, last season's Division Three champions AFC Orange had a difficult time against Allstars, being forced to deal with relentless pressure for most of a goal-less first half. However, Orange found their stride and took a 1-0 lead early in the second half thanks to a Kev Kokes strike, but were pegged back as Darren Kokes notched an equaliser before a late winner from Swainston gave all three points to the Allstars.

Canney Hill Athletic also found life in Division Two a tough proposition as goals from Mark Foreman and Wayne King saw Bishop Auckland Derby pick up a 2-0 victory in the game between the two sides. In fact, the only promoted side in all three divisions that managed to pick up as much as a point was Royal British Legion who played out a 2-2 victory with Sadberge DL. In the only remaining game in Division Two Copper Beech DCS and Green Dragon played out a 1-1 draw after a hard fought tussle. Copper Beech missed several early chances to take the lead before Phil North finally notched from close range to give them a 1-0 half time lead. However, the Green Dragon piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser that finally came midway through the second half when Elliott McCabe latched onto a loose header from Beech defender Dave Collinge before coolly lobbing the advancing goalkeeper from ten yards.

In Division Three, Pepper Draughting Services made an exceptional league debut as they thumped Newton Cap 16-1, whilst fellow new-boys Haughton BAT also made double figures as they beat Smith & Allan 10-0. Pizza Perfekt also got off to a flying start to the season thanks to an impressive second half display that saw them hit five goals without reply against Sherwoods. Adrian Jeff had given Sherwood the lead in the first half from close range, and only a Mike Weston penalty for the Pizzaboyz saw the two sides go in level at half time. The second half was a totally different affair though as Liam Coleman quickly notched two, the second an exquisite lob over the on-rushing keeper, to put Perfekt 3-1 ahead. Ian Wake then marked his debut with a goal that was only out-shone by his celebration before man-of-the-match Carl Batty made the score 5-1 with a screamer from the edge of the box and then notched his second on the full-time whistle to complete a 6-1 victory for the Pizzaboyz.

Elsewhere, Drinkfield United (formerly Faverdale) ran out 3-1 victors against Cricketers (formerly Hogans) whilst Hope Inn (aka Nestfield Seconds of last season) outclassed Royal Oak (Northern Spirit of last season) as they ran out 4-1 victors. Lowe gave the Hope Inn the lead early in the first half as a deep free kick found the Oak defence flat-footed and the ball bounced past everybody into the net. Man-of-the-match Trenton Hewitt then hit a quick-fire double to make the half time score 3-0 as the Oak defence struggled to deal with his height and speed. The Oak did start the second half much brighter, however, and soon got one back as Simon York converted an extremely dubious penalty. The Hope Inn weathered the storm though as the Oak failed to convert their chances, and Maitland's late strike put the game out of reach for their opponents.

In the remaining Third Division games, new boys AFC Aruba picked up a 3-2 victory over FR Aviation (formerly Biglins News) thanks to a brace for Gardner and a goal from D. Holt. Carroll and Thompson both notched for FR Aviation. Finally, Middleton St George Cricket Club ran out 7-3 victors over Emcor (last seasons Greyhound) thanks to a Thompson hat-trick and goals from Brischuk (2), Hume and an own-goal from Alan Tweddle. Tweddle also notched one of the Emcor goals whilst Darren Scott and Stu Fawcett also got on the scoresheet.