Former Darlo defender Foster wants Whitley job

Foster, who was part of the Darlington set up for four years after helping Scunthorpe to promotion and stood by Quakers during their second administration, was assistant manager of Whitley until Leon Ryan quit as manager in midweek. Foster took over as caretaker manager for Saturday’s game.

“I’ve expressed an interest in doing the job, because I feel that I’ve got a lot to offer,” he said. “I’ve been involved in football all my life, and I’d like the chance to turn the club around. I’ve got plenty of experience to be manager in terms of what I’ve done in the past on the field. I believe in myself, and I will bring the right things to the club.”

But his first priority will be to strengthen a defence which has leaked goals alarmingly this season as it has conceded four goals in the first half of each of their last two matches.

“It was a ridiculous game. We set the players to go out there, tell them all the right things, then we concede too many goals. We’re not defending well enough when called upon, some players have been found wanting on occasions.”

Newcastle Benfield manager Steve Bowey said; “Both defences were awful in the first half, it was crazy when the score was 4-3. Going down to ten men for the last 30 minutes changed the whole take on the game but we then defended excellent. Everyone dig deep and stick together and held on to a great win. Our attacking play was excellent to watch, but at the minute we need four goals to win a game.”

All seven goals came in the first half. Benfield took the lead when Paul Brayson fired in, but Whitley equalised when Alex Kempster crossed for Peter Watling to head home. Benfield then regained the lead with a Dan Taylor effort, but Robbie Bird fired the equaliser from a Paul Robinson pass.

Benfield scored again through a Brayson header to make it 3-2, then Taylor ran though and scored the fourth. Whitley’s Dave Berry pulled one back before half time with a header, which at that point in the game, was surprisingly the last goal.

Benfield’s Steven Baptiste was dismissed at the start of the second half, which stopped the flow of goals as Benfield then concentrated on defence The team to watch at the moment are sixth placed Guisborough, who beat Ashington 4-0 at the King George, plus they hit the bar four times.

After Adam Gell hit the bar, they took the lead on 11 minutes when Curtis Round beat a defender on the left and crossed low for Danny Earl to tap in.

Luke Bythway hit the bar before half time while Marc Walton nearly levelled for Ashington, but it was all Guisborough in the second half.

After Andrew May and Liam McPhillips hit the bar, Round again made a good run down the left and gave Earl his second goal on a plate from a few yards, then Bythway crossed perfectly from the left to the far post where Round turned the ball home.

Gell scored the goal of the game though with a 30 yarder that flew into the top corner of the net with seven minutes left.

Guisborough manager Chris Hardy said; “For the second home game running, we played some very good football that was nice to watch. I was pleased that the referee allowed the game to go-ahead. This was another performance that ticked all the boxes in a game that we ran out worthy winners with a scoreline that I believe reflected the game.”

Bishop Auckland have now lost five games in a row after they were beaten 5-2 at Consett, even though they led 2-1 at one point.

After Jordan Lavery hit the bar for Bishops, Consett took the lead when Luke Sullivan ran through and scored from a Matty Slocombe pass, but two minutes after half time Sean Tarling tried his luck from 50 yards, and Consett keeper Chris Elliott backpedalled and carried the ball over his own line.

Bishops then went 2-1 up within a minute when Andy Johnson beat the offside trap and scored, but Consett levelled on 66 minutes when Bishops defender Graham Irving handled , and Michael Mackay scored from the spot.

Josh Gray then scored his first league goal for Consett when he dribbled right through the Bishops defence and beat keeper Scott Pocklington. Bishops sub Kyle Davis was then harshly dismissed for two yellows, quickly followed by Pocklington, who pulled down Mackay, and the Consett striker scored from the subsequent penalty.

Mackay then completed his third hat trick of the season from an Adam Nicholls header in stoppage time for his 18th league goal of the season.

Bishop Auckland manager David Bayles said; “We need the luck to go in our favour. Things aren’t going our way at the moment.”

Consett manager Kenny Lindoe said; “I thought we played really well in the first half and should have scored more than the goal we got. We threw the game in their favour with two goals in as many minutes at the start of the second half. We introduced Josh Gray and things turned in our favour after that. I thought we fully deserved the victory against a strong Bishops.”

Sunderland RCA climbed to third bottom above Billingham Synthonia after they beat Penrith in a match of three penalties.

After a goalless first half, the RCA took the lead when the referee awarded a penalty for what seemed a fair challenge on Joe Hughes, and Andrew Brown scored from the spot.

Penrith levelled with a soft penalty at the other end, successfully converted by Martyn Coleman, but RCA got the winner on 71 minutes when Hughes was fouled again, and Brown scored the winner.

Sunderland RCA manager Marty Swales said; “We’re out of the bottom two now, and we want to keep climbing.”

Crook Town’s woes continued when they were beaten 3-1 at home by Durham City, and have now conceded a century of league goals this season.

Ryan Noble gave Durham the lead with a header on 14 minutes, but Crook, with three new players in their team equalised when Prince Mongo scored from a few yards.

But Durham regained the advantage with a Callum Patton header , and he scored the third from the penalty spot.

To make matters worse for Crook, they have had three points deducted by the league for fielding an ineligible player in a recent game.

Crook manager Peter Mulcaster said; “It was the best performance since I’ve been there, the new signings made a big difference.”

Durham City manager Ian Chandler said; “It was a good three points in difficult conditions. The pitch was playable but had crispy sections. We had a few chances and our front three all got a goal, so not too bad.”

Jarrow Roofing and Dunston UTS drew 0-0. The closest either side came to scoring was when former Dunston UTS striker Lewis Teasdale hit the post for Roofing.

Dunston UTS manager Billy Irwin said; “We’re happy with a point with our performance on a poor pitch.”

Jarrow Roofing manager Richie McLoughlin said; “It was a good point, but should maybe have had all three. Dunston are a good side, and we’re happy to keep our good run going.”

In the second division, Seaham Red Star are now top by two points from Norton after they beat Thornaby 3-0. Dean Nicholson gave them the lead with a 10th minute penalty, and before half time Gary Shaw made it 2-0 from a Lee Kerr pass. David Palmer fired the third, his 16th league goal of the season, from 30 yards in the second half.

Seaham are now unbeaten in 18 league games.

Seaham Red Star manager Mark Collingwood said; “The better team lost. Thornaby controlled the game but couldn’t score. Luckily we were clinical, it’s a massive three points for us, we have played a lot better and lost.”

Washington dropped to fourth after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Ryhope CW.

Matty Weirs gave Ryhope the lead, but Joe Walton equalised for the home side.

Ryhope sub Carl O’Sullivan nearly won it late in the game, but the Washington keeper pulled off a good save.

Washington manager Steve Hutchinson said; “It was a decent game for both sides. I thought we edged it overall for our second half performance. We had a penalty turned down and we had the ball in the net later on but the referee disallowed it. The whole ground was baffled as to why the referee ruled it out for offside, but a point away to a very hard working Ryhope side isn’t a bad result at all.”

Ryhope CW manager Gary Pearson said; “It was a very gritty committed team performance against an in form quality side. Carl O’Sullivan came off the bench for the last 25 minutes and caused all sorts of problems with his pace and really should have score twice. The ref should have awarded us a blatant penalty in the last minute or two, We probably would have taken a point before the game, so it’s a positive to take a point.”

Team Northumbria are now third after they beat Billingham Town 2-0, both their goals coming in the last ten minutes.

Louis Storey scored from a left wing cross, then Sam Perez-Guttierez got the second following a good run by Jack Bennett.

Team North have now kept 13 clean sheets this season.

Billingham Town manager Darren Trotter said; “The lads worked really hard and deserved a point. It was a great reaction to last week’s humiliation, but the lack of strength in depth cost us today.”

Darlington RA are up to fifth after a Freddie Huscroft hat trick gave them a 3-2 away win at Alnwick. The home side took the lead when Stephen Hogg scored, but Huscroft pounced on a mistake for the equaliser. He then scored his second from a corner, and completed his hat trick from a breakaway. Jon Colley pulled a goal back for Alnwick in the second half as the RA missed several chances to extend their lead.

Darlington RA manager Warren Moncur said; “It was 3-1 at half time after going 1-0 down, and had loads of chances to make it 5 or 6. They scored to make it 3-2, but we held on for a deserved win.”

Willington lost 4-1 at Whickham. Mark Pattison scored twice for Whickham in the first 20 minutes, with Danny Lee pulling a goal back on the hour. However, Mark Fitzpatrick scored twice for Whickham to give them victory.

Willington manager Rob Lee said; “We had too many players missing, we only had twelve. We didn’t play well in the first half, but we competed better in the second half and got the score back to 2-1. But their third goal killed the game as far as we were concerned.”

Ten matches were postponed because of frozen pitches, with the games at Norton and Morpeth being postponed less than thirty minutes before kick off.

In the EvoStik League premier division, Whitby were well beaten 4-0 at leaders Skelmersdale, while Blyth’s home game with Matlock was postponed less than an hour before kick off.