Northallerton hit Easington for six at Ainderby Road, beating them 6-1 to put them ninth in the table.

Easington, who haven’t won for four games, held their own until the 25th minute when Gary Cook scored. Colin Anderson and Carl Chillingsworth both scored with headers before half time, and after Chris Tarn pulled a goal back for Easington, Peter Bulmer with a penalty, Anderson with a one-on-one, and Bulmer with a shot into the top corner completed the scoring.

Easington’s new manager Mark Proudlock will take full control in midweek when they play Team Northumbria.

Northallerton manager Mark Fanning said: “All over the park, I thought we were the better team. The performance was just what we needed after losing to Gillford Park in midweek.”

Seaham Red Star had their best victory for several seasons when they thumped Washington 6-0. It was a one man show for the first 80 minutes as Tim Bowman scored the first four goals, and then late in the game Calvin Gowland and Marc Moon added further goals.

Washington have now failed to win any of their last six matches.

Seaham manager Steve Cook said: “It was a good result, but probably our most inconsistent performance for the last month or so. We gave the ball away cheaply but in the instances when we kept it wall and got into the final third we created chances. The attitude was good and we were always in charge but a little disjointed at times. Pleased with six goals and a clean sheet.”

Bottom club Horden stunned Birtley to win only their second league game of the season by 2-1. Hard working Horden took the lead through a Shaun Ryder penalty, and new signing Andrew Summerbell made it 2-0. Kevin Dixon pulled a late goal back for Birtley.

Horden manager Brian Honour said: “It was a hard working performance, not pleasant to watch and a bit anxious.”

Team Northumbria are now five points clear at the top after winning 5-1 at West Allotment, who have now dropped to fourth. Jack Palmer scored a hat trick, while TN striker Peter Watling took his league tally for the season to 18 with two more. Scott Fenwick replied for Allotment. The home side finished with nine men, as Liam McIvor and player-manager Paul Stoneman were both shown red cards.

Team Northumbria director of football Paul Johnson said: “After three poor performances, we asked for a response, and we got it. We got back to where we were before the previous three games. We changed things around player-wise, and jack Palmer proved his worth defensively and in front of goal with a hat trick. Peter Watling scored two, and as long as we play like we did today, he will score a lot more given that we have scored 48 goals in 17 games which by any standard is very good.”

West Allotment manager Paul Stoneman said; “We were absolutely awful, and the referee was even worse. I went mad at the lads at half time for the first time this season, but that wasn’t us today. Credit to Team Northumbria, they played well in the first half.”

North Shields are up third after beating Whitehaven 2-0. Shields missed several chances before they took the lead with a long range shot by James Luccock, and in the second half Craig Deighton scored the second from a rebound.

Shields are now unbeaten in 11 league games.

North Shields manager Anthony Woodhouse said: “We could have been five up in the first four minutes! It could have been a lot more than 2-0 but I’m happy with the team performance and other results going our way.”

Crook Town had a good away win at Chester-le-Street, who are now just two points off the bottom of the table. Andy Appleby scored the winner for Crook in a one-sided game.

Chester-le-Street manager Anth Smith said: “Crook dominated from start to finish. We looked jaded and weren’t at it. The best team won.”

Crook joint manager Paul Adamson said: “We were quite comfortable to be honest, we should have scored a lot more.”

Thornaby beat Ryton by the best of seven at Teesdale Park, although Thornaby were 4-1 up at one stage. Craig Skelton scored a hat trick for Thornaby with Graeme Baverstock getting the other. New signing Scott Thompson scored twice for Ryton, with Sean Reid scoring the other.

Thornaby manager Ray Morton said; “We’re always likely to keep fans happy. We have loads of goals in the team.”

Brandon beat Alnwick for the second time in two days, this time by 2-0, Mark Brischuk scoring twice at the start of the second half.

Gillford Park’s 10 game unbeaten run was ended at home by Morpeth, who beat them 2-1. Phil Cartwright gave Morpeth the lead, and after Marc Shiel equalised, Steve Anderson scored the winner.