Wolviston secretary Keith Simpson reckons his side is in with a good chance of clinching the championship after moving into second position following an emphatic victory at Boldon CA.

It was Wolviston's 15th win in 20 outings and they are now two points adrift of leaders Nissan with a game in hand.

"Quite honestly we should have won by a much greater margin at the weekend and the 3-1 scoreline did not do us justice.

"We dominated for long periods but we are not complaining since Boldon are not the easiest side to beat," said Simpson.

Following an indifferent start to the season, Wolviston have settled into a successful rhythm and with 60 goals are the league's second top scorers behind Harton and Westoe, who have notched 63 goals.

"We are playing attractive football and things are going really well. We have not lost in the league since August, having won 13 and drawn two of our last 15 games.

"Consistency is what wins championships and although we still have 18 matches to play, we are now in a strong position to put real pressure on Nissan and third-placed North Shields."

The season is just into its second half and it looks as if one of the three leading sides will clinch the title although some clubs are on the fringe of the title race because they have matches in hand.

Nissan, last season's title winners, slipped up last Saturday when they went down by an only goal visiting Windscale and North Shields, too, failed to take full points from the visit of New Marske who are fast becoming the Robins' bogey team.

It was New Marske who halted North Shields' long winning sequence last time around when the Robins lost just once in 18 outings following the appointment of Terry Paddison as manager.

Just when it looked that the Ralph Gardner Park side would collect all three points from last Saturday's fixture, New Marske claimed a last-minute equaliser with an excellent goal by substitute Stephen Larkin.

"Full credit to New Marske. They played really well and rocked us right on the interval and at the end by scoring a couple of goals. We thought we had done enough to secure a 2-1 win but Stephen Larkin upset our Christmas celebrations with a flying header," said Robins secretary David Thompson.