ASHINGTON won the battle of the bottom clubs to give themselves real hope of salvaging something from a disappointing season.

With a third of the campaign still remaining they can now start to look upwards after beating Newcastle City to dump them further into the relegation mire while at the same time lifting themselves 28 points clear of their defeated opponents.

City had few answers to the excellent bowling attack of Stephen Boyd, Surya Rathore and Callum Storey who each grabbed three wickets as City collapsed to 97 all out. Boyd took three at a cost of 30 runs in a 15-over spell which included six maidens, and Rathore was even more economical as he conceded 27 runs.

Storey's contribution was more dramatic, becoming almost unplayable as he finished off the City innings with a spell of 7.3 overs, which included three maidens.

His analysis of three for nine provided the sting which finally prevented any fightback by the hosts. Only Bob Brar, who made a patient 33, with four boundaries, saved City from total gloom.

Any worries the Colliers might have had over their reply soon vanished as Simon Prudhoe hit a splendid half century with more than half his runs in boundaries, six fours and a six, to give his side the maximum 20 points they needed to record their third win of the season.

Despite the defeat leaving Newcastle 28 points adrift at the foot of the table, Ashington didn't quite make the progress they had hoped for as the team just above them, Chopwell, were also winning for only the third time this season.

Their victory came surprisingly easily as they overran Morpeth by seven wickets. David Anderson took 4-21 as Morpeth were bowled out for 156, but the real star of the show for the winners was Kamran Mansoor, who smashed ten fours and six sixes in a match-winning unbeaten 83 from 86 balls.

That result moved Chopwell above Lanchester in the table after they went down at Shotley Bridge by 98 runs.

Stuart Graham (66) spearheaded a Bridge total of 247-7 that saw seven players getting into double figures despite Graham Brinton's five-wicket haul, then Phil Carlin (6-67) and Graham Hubber (3-40) bowled the visitors out for just 149, a total that owed almost everything to Lawrence Pearson, who blasted five fours and sic sixes in his 84 not out.

A seven-wicket haul from Nicky Phillips earned Swalwell a 40-run win at Tynedale, Sacriston defeated Burnopfield by 81 runs, even though Mike Jones performed the hat-trick for the losers, and a century from Anirudh Singh and six wickets from Guy Saxton proved too much for Annfield Plain as Percy Main won by 172 runs.