A well-executed goal by Sonny Andrews set up Spennymoor for a 3-1 win at league leaders West Auckland last night.

Mattie Moffat gave West the lead on 10 minutes when he turned quickly and beat Craig Turns with an angled right foot shot, but Keith Graydon equalised on 37 minutes with a quickly taken free kick from 25 yards that caught that the West defence flat footed.

West started the second half well and Micky Rae twice went close, but Andrews put Moors into the lead on 69 minutes with a perfectly executed left foot volley from 25 yards that gave Mark Bell no chance.

And it was all over just a few minutes from the end when Gavin Barton scored from the spot after a foul by West defender Darryl Hall. West manager Peter Dixon said: "We were beaten by three setpieces. For the first, my players are adamant that the referee told their players to wait for his whistle before he took the free kick, but he didn't, and the second was a free kick from the halfway line that we didn't defend in the air. The third was a penalty. But I'm still proud of my players, especially as we only had 14 players available." Moors are now up to third, while West remain a point clear of Dunston.

Spennymoor manager Jason Ainsley said: "Before the game, I reminded the players that some people thought that we would lose at West, and I thought they showed why we are the champions of this league. It was a big win for us."

Bishop Auckland had a dreadful 7-1 defeat at Ashington, whose striker Phil Bell became only the second player in the league this season to score five or more in the game.

Bell, who was signed from Whitley Bay just before the Vase win over Norton last Saturday, scored Ashington’s first five goals, three of them in the first 18 minutes, with Craig Scott and Damon Mullen scoring the others. Andrew Strong pulled a goal back for Bishops when it was 3-0. Bishop Auckland manager Colin myers said: "If it wasn't for Peter Jeffries, it could have been more. It was an awful performance, and some players threw in the towel after 20 minutes, which is completely unacceptable."

South Shields beat Jarrow Roofing 2-1. Jonny Wightman put Shields ahead from an Andrew Soulsby pass on 30 minutes, but Peter Kane levelled before half time. However, Lee Bell scored the winner from a David Colvin free kick six minutes from the end. Jarrow Roofing manager Richie McLoughlin said: "We were the better side in the first half, and should have been in front. Then second half not so good, a draw would have been good for both sides."

In the second division, Gillford Park won 2-1 at Hebburn to go fourth in the table. Mike Reed put them in the lead after 3 minutes, then Ryan Errington scored the second from an acute angle five minutes later. Tony Stephenson finished off a four man move to score for Hebburn after 37 minutes.

Thornaby lost 2-1 at home to lowly Whitehaven. They led with a Craig Skelton goal until the dying minutes, when the visitors scored twice through Kevin Connelly to give them only their third league win of the season. Thornaby manager Ray Morton said: "It was an awful last 20 minutes. We were comfortably leading 1-0, and then two defensive errors handed them the points. We need to start playing simple football and defend properly."

There were two shock results in the Northumberland Senior Cup.

Whitley Bay had Callum Anderson and Chris Fawcett sent off as they slumped to a 5-0 home defeat by Team Northumbria. Whitley Bay manager Ian chandler said: "We were bad. We had two men sent off and it got worse as the game went on. We had five of Saturday's starting eleven missing, but I wish that was an excuse." TN director of football Paul Johnson said: "We're really pleased with the result and once again we proved how well we can play against better opposition in first division sides, it's almost like we can raise our game to match the opposition. Once we started to get control of the possession we staretd to break holes in their defence and midfield, and eventually got our first which forced them to chase the game. "From there we did well on the counter and having extra players advantage helped us just keep the ball until we could work an opening. "Overall a great win, but an even better response to Saturday when we just couldn't put the ball in the net."

Newcastle Benfield shocked Blyth Spartans, winning 2-1 with goals by Brian Dodsworth and Chris Leighton after Glen Taylor had put Blyth into the lead.

Guisborough , the North Riding Senior Cup holders, started well in this season’s competition with a 5-1 away win at Scarborough Athletic, going three goals up in the first 30 minutes. Guisborough manager Chris Hardy said: "It was a very convincing, comfortable victory without being really tested by our opponents."

STL Northern League Division One.

Ashington 7 (Bell 5, Scott, Mullen) Bishop Auckland 1 (Strong), South Shields 2 (Wightman, Bell) Jarrow Roofing 1 (Kane), West Auckland 1 (Moffat) Spennymoor Town 3 (Graydon, Andrews, Barton).

Division Two.

Hebburn 1 (Stephenson) Gillford Park 2 (Reed, Errington), Thornaby 1 (Skelton) Whitehaven 2 (Connelly 2).

North Riding Senior Cup.

Scarborough Athletic 1 Guisborough 5 (I’Anson 2, Onions, Roberts, McPhillips).

Northumberland Senior Cup quarter final.

Blyth 1 (Taylor) Newcastle Benfield 2 (Dodsworth, Leighton), Whitley Bay 0 Team Northumbria 5 (Watling 2, J Palmer 2, Riley).