North Shields are now second in the ENL after they easily won their local derby 4-2 at Whitley Bay in front of an 857 crowd.
Shields were rampant in the first half against their neighbours. They scored twice in a minute through Ben Richardson and Denver Morris, then Gareth Bainbridge grabbed his 15th league goal of the season. Kieran Wrightson blasted the fourth just on half time.
Whitley, who were knocked out of the Vase last Saturday, improved in the second half and scored twice through Robbie Bird, but never looked like getting anything out of the game.
Third bottom Billingham Synthonia collected a valuable point from a 1-1 draw at Consett. Synners took the lead through Joe Carter after 9 minutes, but Michael Mackay levelled from the spot on 31 minutes Ashington beat Durham 2-0 at Woodhorn Lane. After a goalless first half, Andy Ferrell put Ashington into the lead on the hour, quickly followed by a second from Marc Walton.
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