West Auckland striker Roy Allen rewrote the record books when he scored eight for West in their 9-2 trouncing of Ashington on Tuesday night.

It was a remarkable game, because the scores were 2-2 at half time, although Ashington were weakened by the dismissal of Tom Vickers, while keeper Trevor Dunn had to go off injured, to be replaced by outfield player Ross Atkinson.

Allen scored after just 30 seconds, but he didn't score again until five minutes after half time. He then scored five goals in a scintillating spell, missed a penalty after 86 minutes, then raced through for his eighth in the last minute.

Manager Alan Oliver said: "I've never seen anything like it. He was lethal - he didn't miss any of the chances which came his way. Plus as well, he set up a goal for Jonathan Milroy.

"Even though we were playing against ten men for part of the game, it still takes some doing. Ashington did what most teams do when they're down to ten men, by playing just one man up front.

"Ironically, I thought about taking him off when he scored his sixth because he had a hamstring injury, but he said that he wanted to stay on the field.

"But he won't be taking two penalties in a game again."

Allen's scoring feat was a record individual score for West since they joined the league before the war, and also the highest post war in the league.

South Bank striker Jackie Coulthard once scored ten in a game, against Ferryhill before the war.

Ashington tasted both sides of the football coin. Only a fortnight ago, they thumped Seaham Red Star 8-0.

Seaham Red Star have listed striker Lee Adamson at his own request.

Adamson asked for a transfer after Seaham were beaten 8-0 at Ashington last week, and there was immediate interest from several clubs.

Adamson started the season at Spennymoor, but returned to the northern League club last month.

The Northern League has no plans yet to extend the season.

Because of the bad weather last year, the league extended the season until the middle of May, and speculation has been growing that after the recent bad weather, then the league may be playing games beyond its scheduled last day of the season on April 27.

But so far, the league doesn't intend to play in May. League secretary Tony Golightly said: "We're not thinking of extending the season just yet. There are plenty of matches scheduled in March."

However, teams such as Tow Law and West Auckland, who have played just over half their fixtures, could be facing a fixture pile up later in the season.

Meanwhile, league officials are going to a meeting at Ilkeston in Derbyshire for further discussions on the pyramid. There are several proposals being discussed at the moment regarding the restructuring of English non league football, but any satisfactory solution seems a long way off, and there are understood to be some misgivings at FA headquarters about the way the proposals have been handled.

Closer to home, there are ongoing discussions about the expansion of Division Two to accommodate ambitious clubs from the Wearside and Northern Alliance Leagues, but whether anything will happen before the national problems is solved remains to be seen.

Durham manager Brian Honour is delighted with a home draw in the quarter finals of the FA Carlsberg Vase against Jewson Eastern League side Wroxham.

The game at New Ferens Park will be City's sixth home game in the competition, although Wroxham will be tough opposition, as they are currently doing well in their league, the same as Dereham Town, who City beat two rounds ago.

Honour said: "I couldn't have asked for anything more than a home tie.

"In the last eight, there are no easy games, but if we are going to progress, then we have to make our home advantage count.

"There could have been worse draws. I wouldn't have liked to have drawn Whitley Bay from our league, because they know all about us.

"I'll be going to watch Wroxham in action next Saturday. It will be a long trip, because they play near Ipswich, but I'm used to going long distances now to watch future opponents in action. I've already been to Dereham, Raunds, Warrington and Lowestoft on my travels this season!"

Tony Healer, on his return debut last Saturday, received all the plaudits for his stoppage time winner, but Honour also has words of praise for the man he replaced, Micky Taylor, who missed the game because of injury.

"If it wasn't for Micky, we wouldn't have got this far. I feel for him, because he's scored some crucial goals so far. He scored the winner in injury time at Warrington, a hat trick against Mossley, and two against Dereham. We're hoping that he'll be back in time for the next round."

St Neots tried to launch a protest about Durham fielding an ineligible player, match winner Tony Healer, but City were able to demonstrate that the player had been signed a day before the signing deadline.

Whitley Bay, meanwhile, still have some work to do before they can think of a possible quarter final game at Clitheroe. They must overcome Brigg Town in a replay this Saturday, after the two teams drew 3-3 at Hillheads last week.

The other ties are: Lewes v Sudbury, Burgess Hill Town v Tiptree or Taunton. Games are due to be played on March 2.

Tow Law manager Graeme Forster, whose side lost a stormy game 4-1 at Lewes, said: "Lewes will be a difficult team to beat on their own field. They soaked up the pressure against us, then hit us on the break. But I can still see a Northern League team getting a result there."