Durham City played three games on Sunday, using 28 players in all. Although City lost all three matches, their young players gained valuable experience against older sides.

Augmented by some players from Sunderland, Durham's junior men lost 18-9 away to Rotherham. The Yorkshire outfit are one of the top water polo clubs in the country and are coached by national team coach Norman Leighton.

The combined team will probably form the basis for this year's Northumberland and Durham team to play in the national championships.

The untried Durham side were behind only 4-3 in the first quarter and 7-4 at half time. Durham lost their way in the final two quarters as they tired, the team reduced to only eight fit players due to injuries. Kevin Burton of Durham and Sunderland's Dave Clarke of Sunderland managed the team.

Team: Ian Storey, Andrew Clarke, John Franklin, Oliver Metcalf, Mark Jones, Matthew Youll, Adam Burton, Steven O'Neil, Karl Zammit.

Sunday evening saw a visit to Durham from Scottish side East Dunbartonshire. There were two games, Durham under-14s losing 4-3 and the Under-16s losing 10-4. Durham's young players in both teams played hard to overcome their more mature opponents.

East Dunbartonshire donated prizes for Durham's men of the match awards, and these were won by Dominic Neely (U-14) and goalkeeper Alex Bent (U-16), both popular choices. An enjoyable evening ended with a buffet provided by the Durham parents.

Teams - (U-14): Daniel Howie, Chris Stephenson, Andrew Howson, Thomas Edwards, Stefan O'Neill, Richard Robinson, Helen Dewell, Danielle Brady, Bobby Johnson, John Henderson, Hamish Crichton, Richard Robinson, Daniel Craig.

(U-16): Alex Bent, Steven Howson, Joel Woods, Stefan O'Neill, Dayne Hitch, Chris Franklin, Philip Rogers, Chris Trotter, Alison Mell, Anna Richardson.

Durham are hoping to visit East Dunbartonshire later in the year for a return fixture.