Reward for tough Horden

Horden seemed to be down and out as they looked to be slipping to their first defeat of the season at Crook B. However once again the Horden team, Super League reigning champions, showed their championship qualities when they came from an early four points deficit, where Crook only needed two more frames to pull off a famous victory, to fight their way back to tie the match 7-7.

Crook B had two points from Gerald Parkin and Darren Tinkler, whilst Gavin Witton, John Warriner and Johnny Mason added one each. Horden replied with two wins from Shaun Williams and one each from John Bourne, James Evans, Darren Jones, Steve Nixon and Tommy Forster.

Durham B maintained their unbeaten record when they came from 5-2 down to win the match 8-6 against the visiting Crook A. the home side had two wins from Andy Seal and Ian Dinsdale with Michael Rhodes, Dave Hodgson. Gary Carr and Trevor Walton adding one each. Crook A replied with a point each from Steve Liddle, Neil Campbell, Stephen Heyes, Jim Ainsley, Aaron Cowan and Michael Burke. However Durham B have yet to play an away game as they have re-arranged their one scheduled away fixture.

Durham A entertained newcomer's Tow Law and also won by two points. Durham A had two wins from Andrew Morley, Paul Shutt and Lee Holdsworth, with Helen Littlewood and Dave Ferguson adding one each. The visitor's had two wins from David Cragg's and one each from Andrew Burrows, Lee Cullinan, Tommy Sloan and John Beveridge.

Shildon A won 11-3 on their visit to Aycliffe, whilst Shildon B beat Bishop Auckland by four points.

Results: Shildon A 11 Newton Aycliffe 3; Durham A 8 Tow Law 6; Crook B 7 Horden 7; Durham B 8 Crook A 6; Shildon B 9 Bishop Auckland 5.

P W D L Pts

Horden 4 3 1 0 36

Shildon A 4 2 2 0 34

Durham B 4 4 0 0 33

Crook Town A 4 3 0 1 32

Crook Town B 4 1 1 2 31

Ferryhill 3 3 0 0 28

Durham A 4 2 1 1 28

Tow Law 4 1 0 3 26

Shildon B 4 1 0 3 22

Bishop Auckland 4 0 0 4 20

Spennymoor 3 0 1 2 17

Newton Aycliffe 4 0 0 4 15

Teesdale League

sponsored by Newcastle Breweries

Division One

Bowes Moor Hotel 2 Rose & Crown 7; Cricketer's Arms A 4 Montalbo Hotel 5; Folly's Club 5 Glaxo Club 4; Fox Hall Inn 3 Coach & Horses 6; Langdon Beck Hotel 3 Jersey Farm Hotel 6; Rugby Club A 5 Ancient Unicorn 4. Postponed match: Cricketer's Arms A 8 Rugby Club A 1.

P W L GD Pts

Cricketer's Arms A 21 19 2 +69 38

Folly's Club 21 15 6 +37 30

Ancient Unicorn 21 13 8 +37 26

Jersey Farm Hotel 21 12 9 +19 24

Langdon Beck Hotel 21 12 9 +3 24

Montalbo Hotel 21 10 11 -23 20

Rose & Crown 21 9 12 -11 18

Rugby Club A 21 9 12 -11 18

Coach & Horses 21 9 12 -31 18

Bowes Moor Hotel 21 7 14 -23 14

Fox Hall Inn 21 6 15 -37 12

Glaxo Club 21 5 16 -29 10

Division Two

Barnard Castle WMC 8 Four Alls 1; Black Horse 8 Bridge Inn 1; Blacksmith's Arms 5 Golden Lion 4; Bowes WMC 5 Cricketer's Arms B 4; Rugby Club B 7 Royal Star 2; Three Tuns 8 Smallways Inn 1.

P W L GD Pts

Cricketer's Arms B 21 19 2 +73 38

Black Horse 21 17 4 +61 34

Bridge Inn 21 12 9 +11 24

Royal Star 21 12 9 +7 24

Rugby Club B 21 11 10 +15 22

Blacksmith's Arms 21 11 10 -3 22

Golden Lion 21 10 11 +11 20

Bowes WMC 21 10 11 -11 20

Three Tuns 21 7 14 -19 14

Four Alls 21 7 14 -31 14

Barnard Castle WMC 21 7 14 -35 14

Smallways Inn 21 3 18 -79 6

Willington League

Willington Brewer's Droop A clinched the league Championship after they only dropped two points on their visit to Willington Cottles B. The home side made a great start and went two up with wins from Jay Baird and Keith Jackson. However from that point the Brewer's took over and took the remaining four singles through Steve Wayman, Billy Wragg, Steven Britton and Phil Blyth and then completed the job by taking all three doubles points.

The Prospect Club came back to win the decider on their visit to Willington Brewer's Droop B. The singles were shared when Davey Gallagher, Vince Conaty and Steve Smith won for the home side, whilst Ernie Sample, Adrian Peacock and Lane Sample replied. The Brewer's took the first doubles but the Prospect levelled and then went to victory when Derek Peacock and Lane Sample beat Vince Conaty and Davey Gallagher.

Results: Hunwick Quarry 4 Willington Lion and Unicorn 5; Willington Brewer's Droop B 4 Prospect Club 5; Willington Brewer's Droop A 5 Willington Cottles A 4; Willington Cottles B 2 Willington Brewer's Droop A 7.

Spennymoor League

Spennymoor Salvin Arms held on to their unbeaten record when they visited Spennymoor White Horse but they were held to their third draw of the season. This keeps them in second place where they are one point behind Spennymoor Black Horse and one ahead of Spennymoor Voltigeur, who lead Spennymoor Quinns Inn by one point. The Quinns seem to have recovered from three defeats in a row by only dropping one point to the visiting Spennymoor Railway B.

Spennymoor White Horse took the lead after the singles against the visiting Salvin Arms when they had wins from Mark Garthwaite, Kev Bell and Mark Harvey, whilst the visitors replied through R. Canning and M. Donaghue. The Horse then made certain of at least a draw when Mark Harvey and Kev Bell took the first doubles. However the Salvins fought back with J.Clayton and S. Bingham taking the second doubles and then they forced the draw when T. Burrows beat Ian Wearmouth in the captain's game.

Results: Spennymoor Ash Tree 7 Spennymoor Half Moon 1; Coxhoe Red Lion 1 Spennymoor Voltigeur 7; Spennymoor Quinns Inn 7 Spennymoor Railway B 1; Spennymoor Black Horse 5 Spennymoor Pit Laddie 3; Spennymoor Hillingdon B 4 Spennymoor Hillingdon A 4; Spennymoor White Horse 4 Spennymoor Salvin Arms 4. No results from North Eastern v Crown, Railway A v Low Spennymoor Victoria or Football Club v Victoria - home teams deducted two points.

Bishop Auckland Area League

Bishop Auckland Manor kept their title hope alive with an impressive home win against Bishop Auckland's Grand B side. The Manor stormed into the lead with Ron Wright, Peter Mernor, Jon Tomlinson, John Collinson and Steven Webb taking the first five games before Brian Cable claimed the sixth game for the visitors. John Collinson regained a five point lead for the hosts but the Grand's Phil Young took the next. Peter Mernor scored for the Manor before the final singles game was won by Derek Cooper for the Grand to make the score 7-3. Keith Young and Malcolm Cooper took the first doubles for the Grand, whilst Ron Wright and John Collinson won the second doubles for the Manor. Steven Webb won the captain's game for the home side and assured himself of the trophy for that competition.

Bishop Auckland Derby beat the visiting Bishop Auckland Bay Horse with two singles wins each for Stuart Milne and Michael Richardson and one each for Andrew Delve, David Brassell, Steve Gwin and Steven Lowther. Chris Ball and Garry Lamb won the points for the Bay Horse and the two also combined in the first doubles to take the point. Billy Longmire and Steven Lowther won the second doubles for the Derby and Stuart Milne claimed the captains to give the home side a 10-3 victory.

Two victories each for Andrew Tuesday, Malcolm Parry, Kevin Watson and Steven West gave Bishop Auckland King's Head a good start in their home match against Bishop Auckland Green Tree. Mark Heward took two points for the visitors. The home side also took both doubles with David Jacomb and Steven West winning the first and Kevin Watson and Malcolm Parry the second. Mark Heward won his third game of the night in the captains to leave the final score 10-3.

Results: Bishop Auckland Derby 10 (8) Bishop Auckland Bay Horse 3 (2); Bishop Auckland Grand B 4 (3) Bishop Auckland Manor 9 (7) ; Bishop Auckland King's Head 10 (8) Bishop Auckland Green Tree 3 (2).

Bishop Auckland and District League

Spennymoor Ash Tree went to the top of the table buy a single point when they pulled off a very good away win at the strong Bishop Auckland Snooker Club B. The home side only managed one point in the singles when Paul Stewart won, whilst Paul Biddle, Ronnie McAloon, Steve Hunter and Stephen Jones all won two points for the Ash Tree to add to Richard Turner's point. The Snooker Club took the doubles through Kevin Stewart and Steve Balanaves before Paul Biddle and Michael Hoggart shared the captain's points.

Tow Law Station are in second place in the table after only dropping two points to Willington Brewer's Droop, who have replaced Ferryhill Greyhound in the league. The Station had two points from Andrew Burrows, Shaun Umpelby and David Craggs with one each from Lee Cullinan and Anthony Hird. The Brewer's took their first points in the league with singles wins from Davey Gallagher and Stan Smith.but Steven Maughan and Shaun Umpelby took the doubles for the Station and David Craggs added both captain's points when he beat Jason Martin.

Crook Coach and Horses A won the Crook battle when they beat the reigning champions, Crook Olde Horse Shoe to move into third place, three points behind the Station. The Shoe had singles points from Gavin Witton, Stephen Liddle and John Mason, whilst the Coach went ahead with two points from Neil Campbell and Les Scott and one each from Aaron Cowan, David Haygarth and Michael Burke. Lee Scott and Neil Campbell added the doubles but Gavin Witton made the score respectable for the Shoe when he beat Les Scott in both captain's games.

Results: Crook Coach and Horses B 1 Crook White Swan 12; Bishop Auckland RAFA 3 Bishop Auckland Cumberland Arms 10; Bishop Auckland Football Club 9 Witton Park Rose and Crown 4; Henknowle Manor House A 8 Toft Hill Three Tuns 5; Bishop Auckland Derby 11 Henknowle Manor House B 2; Spennymoor Weardale 10 Bishop Auckland Snooker Club A 3; Tow Law Station 11 Willington Brewer's Droop 2; Crook Olde Horse Shoe 5 Crook Coach and Horses A 8; Bishop Auckland Snooker Club B 3 Spennymoor Ash Tree 10.