Spennymoor manager Jason Ainsley says that his side will need more than 100 points to win the league after they beat Bedlington 4-0 on Saturday.

Moors are now on 90 points following their fourth win of the season over the Northumberland side, but Newcastle Benfield have emerged as the biggest threats after Whitley were beaten at home.

“I said last week that there’s going to be more twist and turns, and so it proved,” said Ainsley. “Just because we lost at Dunston on Thursday didn’t make us a bad team. We produced a very good performance on Saturday, and some players who haven’t been playing regularly, such as Calvin Smith, came in and did very well for us. But we must keep on getting results, because we might still need to gain more than 100 points for the title. We’re still in the hunt.”

Calvin Smith gave them a great start after just three minutes with a rasping 35 yarder which is one of the candidates for their goal of the season. After Moors missed some good chances, Craig Ruddy set up Adam Johnston to fire across Bedlington keeper Paul Newton for the second on 57 minutes, and eight minutes later Craig Hubbard played a one-two and set Micky Rae for the third. Smith added another from close range late in the game.

Moors continue their quest for a league and league cup double when they go to Sunderland RCA in the league cup semi final tonight.

Newcastle Benfield are the main dangers to Moors in the league, after they pushed third bottom West Allotment closer to the drop with a 3-1 win, and also extend their unbeaten run to 10 matches.

Shaun Bell put Benfield ahead after 9 minutes , with Micky Chilton making it 2-0 from a left wing cross on 20 minutes. Tony Lancaster pulled a goal back, but Kieron McDonald scored direct from a free kick to make sure of the points.

Benfield play Spennymoor next weekend Whitley Bay’s 17 game winning run came to an end when they lost 2-0 at home to Ashington.

Bay are now 12 points behind the leaders with two games in hand, but of more concern to them is an injury to their Vase talisman Paul Chow, who went off with a sprained ankle in the second half. However, he is expected to be fit for the big day at Wembley on May 8. Because Whitley had used all their subs, they finished the game with ten men.

Whitley hit the bar twice in the first ten minutes through Chow, before former Whitley striker Phil Bell put Ashington into the lead with a follow up header after Andy Johnson’s shot was blocked after 15 minutes . Chow hit the bar once again with a header, but Ashington went 2-0 up when Andy Johnson was left completely unmarked to score with a header from a corner midway through the second half. Lee Kerr hit the bar from 25 yards, before Chow limped off.

Second placed Shildon comfortably won 4-0 at relegated Esh Winning.

Esh made them work hard in a goalless first half, but Shildon took the lead just after half time through a Chris Hughes strike. Steve Johnson made it 2-0 when he intercepted a poor back pass, and then he added two more in the last ten minutes to complete his hat trick.

Esh Winning manager Andrew Soppitt said: “At 1-0 down we missed two good chances, but fitness told, and we gave away some tired-looking goals later on Shildon’s pace and movement were great.”

Consett failed to win for the third successive game when they threw away a two goal lead against Bishop Auckland, and had to settle for a 3-3 draw.

The Steelmen took a two goal lead through Danny Craggs and Dale Burrell inside the first 20 minutes, but Dan O’Donnell pulled a goal back with a cracking 25 yarder. Bishops levelled before half time through Wayne Gredziak from the rebound after his penalty was blocked by Barry Poskett.

Gredziak then scored the third from another rebound after a free kick by Dion Raitt hit the bar, but Craggs fired the equaliser for the home side.

Consett manager Dave Hagan said: “We just didn’t seem to have any luck. Thy scored with a very dubious penalty and a 30 yard shot that could have gone anywhere.”

Bishop Auckland manager Colin Myers said: “it was an awful game that had an end of season feel to it, even though there were six goals.”

Stokesley are now seven points above the drop zone after a good 2-0 away win at South Shields. They took the lead after 39 minutes when Liam McPhillips crossed for Anthony Hume to turn home, and after they withstood some strong Shields pressure, Karl Liley grabbed the second near the end.

Penrith are safe after beating League Cup semi finalists Sunderland RCA 1-0, Lee Ottway scoring their goal in the first half. However, Sunderland RCA’s recent signing, Mattie Tymon, missed a spot kick in the second half.

Fourth bottom Jarrow Roofing came back from two goals down with ten men to draw 2-2 at Billingham Town.

Town took the lead after just 2 minutes through a Glen Butterworth penalty after he was fouled, and Roofing were reduced to ten men when Michael Coghlan was red carded for violent conduct. Town took advantage and Butterworth added another from 30 yards.

But Roofing rallied in the second half, and pulled a goal back on 63 minutes Kris Hughes beat three men and slotted the ball in from an acute angle, and with five minutes left former Town player Andy Jennings volleyed the equaliser.

Billingham Town manager Carl Jarrett said: “I thought the first half was the best we have played in recent weeks, but the sending off changed the game. I thought we weren’t at the races in the second half and never got going again.”

West Auckland drew 1-1 at home to Norton, but they are virtually guaranteed a top seven place. Martin Young put West in front from a Stuart Banks pass, but Jamie Clarke levelled with a free kick for Norton.

West Auckland manager Peter Dixon said: “It was a typical end of season game, which didn’t please me, because I want to win every game we play. It was a disappointment after our good performance at Benfield the other night.”

One of the biggest surprises of the day was bottom club Ryton’s 5-3 home win over Billingham Synthonia, their first league win 38 matches. The scores were level on 1-1 at half time, with Chris McCabe putting Ryton in front and James Magowan equalising, but Ryton took advantage of some dreadful defending to score four times in quick succession soon after the interval through McCabe (2), Robbie Frame and Dan Wilson. Magowan pulled two late goals back, but despite scoring a hat trick, he still finished on the losing side.

Billingham Synthonia assistant manager Lee Tucker said: “It was a strange game. We had a load of possession, but then Ryton would get a chance out of nothing and score.”

Dunston’s gruelling schedule doesn’t seem to be affecting their results, as they beat Tow Law 3-1 at the UTS stadium.

However, Lawyers were in front at one point thanks to a penalty by Andrew Thompson, but Dunston levelled before half time through a Ben Cattanach header from a Terry Galbraith free kick. Dunston finished strongly, and took the lead on 84 minutes with another Cattanach header from a Galbraith free kick, and in the last minute Steve Goddard broke away for the third.

Tow Law manager Ian Davison said: “We made naïve decisions that cost us. They scored from two free kicks that we shouldn’t have given away.”

Dunston manager Billy Irwin said: “I can’t praise the players enough after all the games that they’ve played.”