MIDDLESBROUGH responded to the previous week’s woeful display at Bradford and Bingley with a vastly-improved performance in a 23-14 home win against Birkenhead Park.

It lifted them nine points clear of the bottom three in National Three North and they will hope for further improvement when they visit Billingham this week.

The return of hooker Richard Horton and flanker Rory Duff made a difference, but a solid team effort was capped by a determined response to seeing a 15-0 halftime lead whittled down to 18- 14 with eight minutes left.

At that point Boro produced the best rugby of the match into the wind as forwards and backs combined to send winger Callum Campbell over in the corner.

The other winger, Paul Norris, had opened the scoring after two minutes after the forwards drove to the posts and the ball was swiftly moved out.

Simon O’Farrell converted from the touchline and added a penalty before Horton finished off a forward drive.

Given the strength of the wind, the 15-0 lead might not have been enough. But Boro had enough of the play for O’- Farrell to land another penalty while Birkenhead kicked three. Then came the visitors’ try, but Boro were not to be denied.

In National One, Blaydon’s fine run ended in dreadful conditions at Sedgley Park, where all their pressure came to nothing and they lost 15-0.

Blaydon battled through standing water and a strong wind to be level at 0-0 at halftime but fell behind to a penalty three minutes afterwards then conceded two converted breakaway tries.

The determined hosts tackled ferociously and on the rare occasions when Blaydon did break the gain line they dropped the ball.

Full back Ed Yarnton showed his class as he fielded a lot of high balls under pressure, while winger Kevin Mc- Shane also played well in an otherwise disappointing display.

Tynedale ended their lean run with a 26-8 home win against Launceston, with flanker Grant Beasley scoring the first two tries. His brother Gavin, the fly half, supplied an inside pass for the first and kicked 50 metres to touch for Grant to grab his second from the back of the line-out.

Lock Richard Boyle earned his second Man of the Match award of the season, but the loss of prop Jonny Williams disrupted Tynedale and the visitors were in the game when they scored from a fivemetre scrum.

However, good handling was finished off by full back Sep Visser to give Tynedale a 19-8 interval lead and after turning to face the wind they scored the crucial fourth try after four minutes. Hooker Matthew Fieldhouse supplied the scoring pass for skipper Jack Harrison, back after injury, and Gavin Beasley added his third conversion.

Westoe suffered only their second defeat in National Two North when they lost 14-7 away to a Morley side clearly determined to climb out of trouble.

Westoe were unable to make their early superiority count and conceded three penalties to trail 9-0 at the break.

It quickly became 14-0 when tackles were missed as the home No 8 charged over from 45 metres and Westoe’s only reply came in the 57th minute.

A fluffed clearance struck a Morley player and rebounded over the line for James Clark to touch down, with Mark Bedworth converting.

North One East leaders West Hartlepool had to battle for a 15-8 home win against Morpeth, who defended strongly.

In wet and windy conditions, West tried too many long passes and struggled to secure clean line-out ball.

Morpeth led through a penalty but a spell of pressure brought a number of penalties and West moved one quickly to the right wing, where Adam Larkin finished well.

Morpeth went back in front when powerful running from the forwards produced a try after 38 minutes.

But in added time Gavin Robinson and Dan Boatman combined to set Andy Cheslin away up the left-wing. The winger rode a tackle to score for a 10-8 interval lead.

West dominated territory in the second half and with ten minutes left Morpeth had a forward yellow-carded and Andrew Foreman picked up from a scrum and easily went in for a try.

Hartlepool Rovers dominated much of the first half at Wheatley Hills, but trailed 8-3 and collapsed after the interval to lose 50-10. Stewart Grazier scored their try, while Kevin Sainty added a penalty and a conversion.

Full back Connor Esler scored a second half hat-trick for Darlington in a 68-10 win at Ashington, in which Henry Carver converted nine of the ten tries and scored one himself.

Darlington counteracted the physical home team’s pick and drive game through expansive rugby, with centre Andy Pugh touching down twice.

Richard Snowball was outstanding at No 8, but both he and Mark Baldwin received yellow cards, leaving Darlington with 13 men at the end.

They made no inroads into Gateshead’s nine-point lead at the top of D and N One as the Tynesiders won 59-6 at Horden.

Stockton were outgunned up front at home to Gosforth and lost 28-17 after building a 10-0 lead. Scrum half Rob Green broke away to send full back Tom Jeffery over, with Jeremy Good adding the conversion and a penalty.

But with the forwards rumbling over for the first of their three tries, and the fly half kicking the first two of his three drop goals, Gosforth led 13-10 at half-time.

A converted try by centre Craig Slaughter from a quickly- taken penalty kept Stockton in it, but they were well beaten and had a player sent for the second successive week.

After a general warning a Gosforth flanker was first to see red, apparently for handling on the floor, then home skipper Scott Powell followed for reasons even he wasn’t sure of.