Hawes United gained a vital win in their bid for the championship when they entertained nearest rivals Middleham Town and came out 3-1 victors in this top of the table clash.

Hawes took the lead on the hour with a wind-assisted shot from 60 yards by Wayne Winspear but the penalty by Jason Barnard levelled. The home side regained the lead with a 25-yarder from Kevin Hulley and a minute from the end Nick Prince settled the issue.

Bowes moved up into second place in the table with their fifth consecutive win, defeating Askrigg at home by six clear goals. Robert Wilkinson, Scott Walker, Steve Guy, Andrew Short, Trevor Guy and an own goal completed a rout.

Carperby travelled to Spennithorne and took the points with a late goal in a high-scoring seven goal thriller. Tim Peacock put the visitors in front and the home side suffered a further blow when they had midfielder Tony Gaze sent off for retaliation. Carperby took command just before the interval with a 30 yarder from Darren Percival and a penalty from John Pickard, but Spennithorne promptly hit back with two goals from John Acton and Neil Atkinson to make it 3-2. The home side levelled the scores through Martin Allinson but Carperby grabbed the winner with Dave Moore's strike.

Richmond Mavericks moved up into third place in the table with an overwhelming 14-0 win at Hipswell. Graham Stelling, Richard Thompson (4), Craig Vincent (3), Andy Mollitt (2), Gary Walker (2), Gordon Wade and Lance Bainbridge were the other players on target.

Reeth recorded their third league victory in a rowwhen they travelled to Redmire and ended up 5-1 winners. The home side opened the scoring but the visitors equalised through Chris Hutchinson.They took the lead with a penalty by Tony Bowers. Midway through the half Danny Plumb made it 3-1 and on the stroke of half time added a fourth. Plumb completed his hat trick from the penalty spot.

Richmond Buck moved up a place in the table with a 3-0 home victory over Kirby Malzeard to record their second successive win. Bobbie Fotheringham gave them the lead and Martin Peacock made it 2-0. The home side missed a great chance to go further ahead when James Conway missed a penalty. Buck scored through Gavin Boulton to make it 3-0 at the close.

After a disappointing series of defeats had seen them slip down the table, Leyburn United gain their fourth victory of the season when they visited Swale Travaux and ended 3-0 winners. Carl Handley put them ahead after 35 minutes and five minutes into the second half James Cooper added a second. Ten minutes from time Peter Westwood made it 3-0 to ensure Leyburn the points.

Fixtures Saturday November 17 Kick off 2pm:

Askrigg v Hawes B; Carperby v Swale Travaux; Spennithorne v Leyburn United; Middleham Town v Reeth; Hawes United v Kirkby Malzeard; Richmond Buck v Hipswell; Richmond Mavericks v Bowes.

League Table

P W D L Pts

Hawes United 14 11 2 1 35

Bowes 13 11 1 1 34

Richmond Mavericks 14 10 1 3 31

Middleham Town 13 10 1 2 31

Reeth 13 9 1 3 28

Carperby 13 7 4 2 25

Richmond Buck 13 7 2 4 23

Spennithorne 13 7 1 5 22

Swale Travaux 14 5 1 8 16

Kirkby Malzeard 14 4 1 9 13

Leyburn United 13 4 0 9 12

Askrigg 12 36 1 8 10

Hawes B 11 1 1 9 4

Redmire 14 1 0 13 3

Hipswell 13 0 1 12