Title race wide open

THE Division One championship race is wide open as the title-chasers go into the penultimate month of the season.

Tension is high as current champions Newton Aycliffe battle with New Masons, Old Shildon, Huntsman and Europa for the top spot.

And the league is delighted to see such an open race - as with all the cup competitions.

"It's certainly refreshing to see so many teams involved at the top," said League Secretary Mike Clarke. "In past years, Newton Aycliffe have dominated the league and most of the cups.

"But last year, Masons pushed them all the way and narrowly missed out on goal difference. It looks like they'll be there again this season, so the end-of-season run-in promises to be an entertaining affair."

The league is also pleased that the cups will be shared out this season. Binchester Social Club will play Broompark Loves in the Second Division Cup Final on Sunday April 22, while Eldon Lane will take on Huntsman in the First Division Cup Final on Sunday May 5.

Meanwhile, Broompark Loves will play Postchaise in the B&A Trophy Final on Sunday May 12, and Green Tree, Old Shildon, Royal George and Huntsman make up the semi-finals of the League Cup on Sunday, April 21.

In League action last Sunday, New Masons beat Laceys 6-1 thanks to two goals each by Ian Bainbridge and Mark Greenwood. David Trotter and Damon Askew also scored for the Masons, while Jonathan Hall netted for Laceys.

Old Shildon thumped title hopefuls Huntsman 6-1 thanks to goals by Darren Plaice (2), Martin Hedley, Paul Shaw, Paul Wilson and Chris Brass. Steve Woodward scored Huntsman's only goal.

Newton Aycliffe recorded a narrow 3-2 win at the Royal George. Paul Stevens, Steve Moran and James Miller scored for Aycliffe, with Carl Dawson and Daniel Plews scoring for the George.

Eldon Lane beat Brandon 4-3 with goals by Ian McGowan, John Foster, John Neilson and Ben Cooper. David Ralph, Aaron Snowdon and Michael Champman scored for Brandon.

Goals by John Robson and Paul Gittens ensured Salvins a 2-1 win over bottom-of-the-table Horndale. Scott Mason netted the consolation.

The Grand beat Europa 2-1 with goals by Shaun Reynolds and Shaun Ingledew. Mark Lunn scored for Europa.

In Division Two, North Briton beat derby rivals the Locomotion 6-4. David Patrick netted a hat-trick for the Brit, while Michael Middleton, Dennis Townson and Keith O'Neil also scored. John Airey grabbed a trick for the Loco, with Fleming also scoring.

Spennymoor Thorns beat Masons United 6-2 thanks a hat-trick by Steven Richardson. Steven Smith, Julian Jordan and Paul Gargett also scored.

Broompark Loves beat Green Tree 5-1 with goals by Ben Roffe (two), Gavin Wood (2) and Tony Robson. Paul Carney scored for the Tree.

Lee Parkinson, Chris Ross, Dave Phillips and Jamie Walsh all scored for Brawns Den to give them a 4-2 win over Shildon Athletic. Paul Gargett and Stanley Dowling scored for Shildon.

Two Blues beat Pit Laddie 3-1 thanks to Colin Walker, Adrian Brown and Timmy Hutchinson, with Richard Young scoring for the Blues.

Binchester Social Club beat Victoria 7-1 with goals by Jeff Morrow (2), Gavin Dunnett, Tery Little, Paul Foster, Darren Spark and John Wheatley. David Airey scored for the Vic.

Finally, Postchaise recorded a 4-2 victory over bottom club Binchester Hotel. Ray Walton scored two, with Dave Walton and Jonathan Briddick getting one a-piece. Jimmy Tray and David Parker both scored for Binny.

Results - Division One: New Masons 6, Laceys 1; Salvins 2, Horndale 1; Eldon Lane 4, Brandon 3; Old Shildon 6, Huntsman 1; Royal George 2, Newton Aycliffe 3; The Grand 2, Europa 1.

Division Two: Postchaise 4, Binchester Hotel 2; Shildon Ath. 2, Brawns Den 4; Thorns 6, Masons Utd 2; Boot & Shoe 1, Loves 5; Locomotion 4, North Briton 6; Two Blues 3, Pit Laddie 1; Binchester SC 7, Victoria 1.

Division One

P W D L F A Pts

New Masons 17 14 1 2 64 29 43

Old Shildon 19 13 2 4 74 35 41

Huntsman 17 10 4 3 71 38 34

Newton Aycliffe 12 9 2 1 51 22 29

Europa 14 9 1 4 41 28 28

Eldon Lane 17 7 3 7 50 48 24

Royal George 17 7 2 8 45 48 23

The Grand 18 7 2 9 47 60 23

Salvins 17 5 3 9 45 46 18

Brandon 21 3 4 14 45 94 13

Laceys 17 2 3 12 36 75 9

Horndale 18 1 3 14 31 73 6

Division Two

P W D L F A Pts

Spennymoor Tho. 23 21 0 2 143 30 60

Black Horse* 22 18 2 2 111 35 53

Broompark Loves 19 17 1 1 94 16 52

Postchaise 22 15 2 5 81 50 47

Binchester Soc. Cl. 20 14 2 4 73 35 44

Brawns Den 20 12 0 8 71 45 36

Green Tree 22 12 0 10 65 68 36

Masons United 21 10 3 8 56 51 33

Boot & Shoe 26 8 2 16 60 100 26

North Briton 25 8 0 17 65 85 24

Shildon Athletic 20 7 1 12 46 63 22

Two Blues 23 6 2 15 51 94 20

Victoria* 26 6 3 17 41 101 18

Locomotion 20 5 1 14 49 94 16

Pit Laddie 19 4 1 14 35 77 13

Binchester Hotel 23 3 0 20 28 116 9

*Three points deducted

Hathaway and Cope Stokesley League

Wilf Leader Trophy Semi Final Second Leg

Middlesbrough Post Office

3 v 0 Lingdale FC

(7-0 on aggregate)

Middlesbrough Post Office won through to the Wilf Leader Trophy Final where they will meet The Grenadier FC. The will be played on April 22nd at Great Ayton.

With the Post Office leading 4-0 from the first leg, the pressure was on Lingdale to get an early goal, however the worst possible scenario occurred when the posties took the lead with a goal from Lee Hogg. Middlesbrough Post Office applied the pressure for much of the first half but could not get that second goal.

Although the Lingdale midfield & attack linked up well in the second half it was luck in the final third that let them down.

Ian Turner the Lingdale keeper kept his side in the game with two great saves early on.

The pressure paid off when a second goal came for Post Office with Stephen Dalton crossing well to find Lee Thompson meeting the ball and firing home from close range.

A brace from Lee Hogg took the game beyond Lingdale as the striker beat a well established Lingdale off side trap and then outpacing the defence before taking the ball around the Lingdale keeper to calmly slot the ball home.

Dormans FC 5 v 1 Redcar Coke Ovens

Both teams could view this fixture as a dry run for the Arthur Reed Memorial Shield Final with both teams winning through in last week's semi final ties.

However before this League game Dormans FC needed 5 points to win the league championship outright and Redcar Coke Ovens required to win their final three games to stand a chance of League runners-up, all was to play for.

It was Redcar Coke Ovens who took the lead when an early opportunity was converted by the Cokies striker Anthony Gregory. Following this the Coke Ovens could have gone a further two goals in front when two one on ones with the Dormans keeper failed to materialise.

Dormans FC being strong all season, pressurised the Cokies defence and went on to score two goals, both from Darren Rothwell.

Dormans FC stepped up a gear in the second half, and in particular with the return of striker Jim McGowan who added to the score with two goals of his own and last seasons leading goal scorer, Dean Farley also getting on the score sheet, Dormans FC left an impression that they won this game convincingly.

The Grenadier FC 4 v 3 Stokesley SC

With both teams playing out the season it was Stokesley who took the early lead. Following the early advantage taken by Stokesley it was The Grenadier who settled well into the game and this paid off as they began to dominate the first half of play. Craig Bishop brought the two sides level when he scored a well worked bicycle kick leaving the Stokesley keeper Eric Taylor with no chance. Andy Conway made it two goals from a free kick. A defensive error from Stokesley saw Andy Fixter take the advantage when he stepped inside to take the ball past the oncoming keeper and calmly slotting the ball into the back of the net. Andy Fixter got his second goal with a perfectly executed volley giving The Grenadier a half time lead 4-1.

A spirited come back from Stokesley in the second half saw them narrow the goal margin with two goals from Neil Nelson and Chris March, nevertheless, it was The Grenadier who held out for all three points.

Woodmans Arms 0 v 5

Teesside Athletic

As the score suggests Teesside Athletic dominated this game as it leaves Woodmans Arms thinking about their Cliff Wells Cup Final preparation.

The first half saw a number of chances going amiss but the Teesside Athletic domination got under way as Jamie Martin took Athletic into a 1-0 half time lead.

It was the second half that truly showed the quality of the Redcar team as in form striker Chris Ellis scored two goals, his first being a well headed goal following an accurately driven cross from Michael Meachin. Ellis scored a second goal when he found himself one on one with the Woodmans keeper.

Alex Hugil also got on the score sheet when he rose above the Woodmans defence to accurately head the ball giving the defence no chance.

A fifth goal came from the right of midfield when the midfielder took on the Woodmans defence an awkward ball was delivered as it bounced high above the defender and into the path of Jamie Martin who lobbed the ball above the oncoming keeper and into the empty goal.

P W D L F A Pts

Dormans FC 16 13 1 2 79 21 40

Ennis Square 19 12 2 5 50 31 38

Redcar Coke Ovens 18 10 2 6 46 32 32

The Grenadier FC 18 9 3 6 50 41 30

Teesside Athletic 16 8 5 3 48 28 29

B+H Kings Head 18 9 2 7 43 26 29

M'bro' Post Office 16 7 2 7 44 42 23

Woodman's Arms 18 6 3 9 34 39 21

Stokesley SC 19 6 1 12 34 50 19

Bull's Head FC 17 1 3 13 20 79 6

Lingdale FC 15 1 2 12 16 75 5

Darlington Church and Friendly League

The game of the day took place between The Navy Club and reigning champions The Royal which resulted in an emphatic 4-1 win for the Clubmen. Driven on throughout by midfielders Scott Brassell and Paul Burkitt-Blackett the Navy lads were four up at half-time and cruising. However a much more spirited performance in the second half saw The Royal come back into the game but the Clubbers deservedly held them at bay. The Navy Club scorers were Terry Robinson (2), Scott Brassell and Andy Ryder with Simon Hares replying for The Royal.

One team who badly needed a lift were The Mowden who had been in the doldrums of late and they certainly found their form against a determined Tap and Spile and came away with a hard-fought 2-0 win. The Mowden goalscorers were James Middleton and Ritchie Dodsworth. This was a much better performance from The Mowden who need to focus on playing good football as they have two semi-finals coming up in the next three weeks.

A tremendous game of all out attacking football took place between Elm Road WMC and Aycliffe Saints which resulted in a 4-3 win for The Saints.

This was a game that could have gone either way but The Saints just edged it in a very tight game. The Elm Road goals were scored by Richard Nash and one each for the Dawson brothers, Carl and Craig.

One of the title favourites, The Three Tuns, did their chances no harm at all with a thumping 7-1 win over a very game Greyhound side that never gave up. This Tuns side are proving to everyone that they are genuine championship contenders and are a side that everyone is now aware of. The Greyhound scorer was Barry Thompson with Mark Hallimond (2), Darren Foster, Michael Houlahan, Steven Hall, Michael Dowson and veteran Mickey Malloy getting the goals for The Tuns.

The young men of RA Youth played out of their skins and defeated Central Borough by a scoreline of 7-0. During this game RA scored their 100th League goal and fittingly it was scored by the pocket dynamo, Darren Kokes, who has been on fire this season for his team. The goals were scored by Kokes (5), James Emmerson and Daniel O'Neill.

A team with their sights firmly on the title are The Otter and Fish who, over the Easter weekend, had two tough fixtures to fulfil and they ended up with maximum points following two victories. On Good Friday they travelled up to Deepdale and came away with a 2-1 win, the winner being a penalty kick in the second minute of added on time in the second half. On Saturday they had another tough match against SCA and after being under the cosh for most of the game again showed the spirit and resilience required and came away with a 2-0 win, their goals being scored by Neil Bell and Davie Walker.

They say that the Easter period has a big say in where the championship ends up and The Fish could not have done any more than take the six points on offer.

Wheatsheaf Wanderers pulled off the result of the day as they went up to Deepdale and came away with a superb 4-2 win. This was another end to end game which was all square at 2-2 at half-time but The Wheatsheaf proved the stronger in the second half and ran out deserved winners. The winners goals were scored by Martin Houlahan, Steven Houlahan, Lee Gibson and John Daniels.

P W D L F A Pts

The Otter and Fish 23 18 4 1 98 34 58

The Royal 24 18 3 3 102 37 57

The Three Tuns 24 18 2 4 113 55 56

The Navy Club 26 16 6 4 105 59 54

RA Youth 22 15 2 5 102 44 47

Aycliffe Saints 24 12 3 9 89 64 39

Deepdale 21 11 2 8 88 47 35

Elm Road WMC 24 10 5 9 84 59 35

SCA 25 10 2 13 74 81 32

Wheatsheaf Wands. 22 9 2 11 76 67 29

Hydro 23 9 1 13 55 68 28

The Mowden 19 6 3 10 47 48 21

DGSOB 23 4 3 16 38 88 15

*Central Boro 23 4 4 15 45 121 13

The Greyhound 27 4 1 22 49 159 13

*The Tap and Spile 24 1 1 22 27 160 1

*Denotes three points deducted