Ryhope CW secretary George McKitterick reckons last week's victory over high-flying Windscale is just the tonic his side needs to boost confidence.

The Wearsiders went into the Monkwearmouth Charity Cup tie the under-dogs but confounded the critics with a 3-1 victory.

"I was not in the least bit surprised we gave Wolviston a good match. I said after our 4-1 defeat at North Shields a fortnight ago, the tide would turn and victory against Windscale has taken the pressure off," claimed McKitterick.

"The lads will be a lot more relaxed going into tomorrow's game at home to Whitehaven. McKitterick paid particular tribute to striker David Ashplant. "He was simply on fire against Windscale and his two first-half goals were just reward for the way he led the line. He is quick off the mark and on his day can cause problems for defenders," McKitterick said.

Apart from a boost in confidence Ryhope are also celebrating the availability of three goalkeepers. Kris Snowball has recovered after being sidelined with broken fingers. Michael Burlinson is back from suspension and Scott Wiseman is also free to play.

"The goalkeeping position has been a bit of a problem but from struggling to find someone, we now have three players competing for the jersey. It is a good position to be in," enthused McKitterick.

Boldon CA made North Shields, who are bidding for the championship, work hard for victory when they met at Ralph Gardner Park.

"Credit to Boldon. They withstood our early pressure remarkably well and they took some breaking down but once we went two up early in the second period, we knew that we were in with a good chance of reaching the next round of the Monkwearmouth Charity Cup," said secretary David Thompson.

Andy Bowman netted twice and is now the Robins' leading scorer with 17 goals but second-top marksman Steve Gibbard has returned to Amble Vikings after only a short stay with the Shieldsmen.

The club played their first game under floodlights when Northumberland County Under-18s provided the opposition. The lights have not yet been used for a league game but hopefully they will be available in the near future.

"Our friendly with the under-18s gave us the opportunity to try out the lights.

"There were one or two hitches which caused an hour's delay but very soon we will be using them for our competitive fixtures," Thompson said.