Holders Shildon held on against strong second half pressure to beat Spennymoor 2-1 and reach the Durham Challenge Cup final.

The Northern League team stunned their opponents from a league higher by taking the lead after 6 minutes. Marc Doninger picked up the ball unchallenged 25 yards out, ran forward and hit a low right foot shot into the bottom right hand corner of the net with Moors keeper Luke Coddington beaten.

Moors then tried to build up a head of steam, but Shildon were quick to charge down shots from Shane Henry and Liam Henderson on the edge of their area.

Shildon broke away through Paul Connor, and he was denied by the outstretched hands of Coddington. However, when Connor got clean through for the second time on 21 minutes, Coddington tripped the former Swansea striker as he rounded him, and the referee pointed to the spot, from where Lee Scroggins tucked the ball away for the second.

And it nearly got worse for Moors, when a curler from Ben Wood went just wide of the post.

Liam Henderson missed a good chance to pull one back, but he put the rebound off Anthony Peacock’s shot over the bar.

Moors pulled a goal back eight minutes into the second half. In a goalmouth scramble, Henderson, Michael Roberts and Peacock all had shots blocked, before Peacock forced the ball home from six yards.

Roberts forced a low diving save out of Shildon keeper Kyle Hayes, but even though Moors had all of the pressure, they didn’t seriously the keeper until the last minute, when McReady forced him into a one handed save from the edge of the box.

In the ENL, Marske United lost ground on the leaders when they lost 4-1 at Durham, even though they led at one stage, Marske striker Jamie Owens hit the bar twice in the first 20 minutes, and they took the lead when Glen Butterworth found Danny Brunskill in the area, and he fired home.

But Durham recovered and levelled through Callum Patton on 66 minutes, and five minutes later he put the hosts ahead. Ryan Noble then headed the third, and wrapped it up with another near the end.

Sunderland RCA are still seven points adrift of safety after they lost 2-0 at home to Morpeth. After a goalless first half, Morpeth took the lead on 65 minutes through Jordan Fry, then a few minutes later Michael Chilton scored the second from a rebound.

In the second division, second placed Norton came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Chester-le-Street. Chester took the lead after just 52 seconds through Jack Honour, and in the last minute of the half, Danny Hepplewhite made it 2-0.

But Michael Jameson pulled a goal back for Norton early in the second half, then Marcus Laing headed them level midway through.

In the league cup, Newton Aycliffe won 2-1 at Washington.

Aycliffe took the lead after 9 minutes through Dan Hindmarsh, but Mark Davison levelled from a corner. However, Hindmarsh restored Aycliffe’s lead from the spot just on half time.

Aycliffe had Paul Garthwaite sent off in the second half.

Guisborough’s 15 game unbeaten run came to an end at Ashington where they were beaten by a first half goal by Joe Moscrop.

In the Ernest Armstrong Cup, Billingham Town reached the final when they beat South Shields with a goal by Louis Whensley.