bottom club Easington parted company with manager Mark Proudlock after they were beaten 7-1 at Crook.

Proudlock took over soon after Easington failed to fulfil their fixture with Gillford Park last month for being unable to raise a team, and since then has attracted several players to the club. He said: “I wanted to resign last Wednesday night after the chairman told spectators at the Peterlee v Coxhoe game that I was going to be sacked. I went after the Crook game because if I resigned beforehand, we wouldn’t have been able to get a team out and would have been fined and lost three points. I went to Crook for the lads, and I told them after the game.”

Chairman Steve Saiger refused to comment when contacted.

Crook rattled up a 5-0 lead before half time, and went on to record the joint highest score this season in the second division, equalling the 7-1 hammering that Thornaby gave Easington a fortnight ago.

Kevin Devine (2), Kyle Davis, Richard Hodgson, Brian Fairhurst, Graeme Liddle and Robbie Bird all scored for Crook, whose striker Andy Appleby has decided to join Whitby on a permanent basis – the second time this season that he has left the Millfield. Chris Tarn scored for Easington.

Crook Town joint manager Paul Adamson, who was up against his old club, said: “I thought we scored some good goals, and if it wasn’t for their keeper, we could have scored more.”

League leaders Team Northumbria are still six points clear after they beat Brandon 2-0. Jack Palmer gave them the lead early in the game, but they didn’t settle it until Dean Critchlow added the second near the end.

Team Northumbria director of football Paul Johnson said: “It was a good performance in difficult weather conditions. Brandon had a very good workrate which we had to deal with and I thought once we got a grip on the game we could start and control the game. The two goals we scored were enough in the game for us to be comfortable.”

Esh Winning striker Craig Mickle missed out on a third successive hat trick, but he still scored in a 3-0 home win against Whitehaven to give him 12 goals in his last six games. Adam Johnson put through his own goal, while Craig Coates added a third. Esh are four points behind TN with two games in hand.

Esh Winning manager Andrew Soppitt said: “the awful conditions didn’t help us and we didn’t play very well. However, three points, clean sheet and no injuries so can’t complain.”

Darlington RA’s recent improvement continued with a 2-1 home win over Seaham Red Star to put them fourth. After a goalless first hour, James Evison fired the RA in front, and minutes later player-manager Nick Harrison headed the second. Lewis Turnbull replied for Seaham.

Darlington RA manager Nick Harrison said: “We dominated the first half, but the final ball let us down. The second half was more even but we took our chances and defended well. The lads are showing great attitude and commitment to grind out results, on our quagmire of a pitch.”

Seaham manager Steve Cook said: “I thought Ra deserved their victory, the adapted to the windy conditions and the inconsistencies of the pitch. We played ok but lacked a spark. We had opportunities to snatch a draw, but in all honesty it would have been very harsh on the home side. Back to basics next week.”

Thornaby and Morpeth shared eight goals in a 4-4 draw. Thornaby were 2-0 up at one point, but then needed a late penalty from Craig Skelton to give them a point. Danny Lofts, who was released by Middlesbrough, scored Thornaby’s second, while Graeme Baverstock got the other two.

Thornaby manager Ray Morton said: “It was a great game in windy conditions – there’s always plenty of goals with Thornaby.”

West Allotment beat Birtley 3-2, but they had to withstand a late fight back from Birtley, who had Andrew Grant-Soulsby sent off after 20 minutes. Paul Kane and Shaun Reid (2) put Allotment 3-0 up, but Birtley hit back with goals by Craig Marron and Matthew Hornsby.

West Allotment manager Paul Stoneman said: “We deserved the win after our first half performance. The second half was a scrappy affair, it was nice for the two debutant forwards to get on the scoresheet.”

Birtley manager Scott Oliver said: “We’re having a crazy spell at the moment. I though the sending off was correct, but we made a gallant fightback in the second half. I thought our keeper was fouled for the third goal.”

Third in the table North Shields can still go through the calendar year unbeaten away from home when they drew 1-1 at Chester-le-Street.

They took the lead when Andy Hay intercepted a poor pass in the Chester back four to run through and score, but Chester equalised through Scott Swanston with a glancing header.

Northallerton beat Alnwick 3-0 at Ainderby Road, with Carl Chillingsworth scoring twice to give him nine league goals for the season. Dan Clayton scored the other.

Northallerton manager Mark Fanning said: “We played well today and deserved the win. It was vital that we bounced back after the last two defeats.”

Hebburn, who have at least three games in hand on all the clubs above them, won 2-1 at Ryton and Crawcrook. Liam McBryde gave them the lead, with Adam Rowntree equalising. However, McBryde scored the winner, his 13th league goal of the season.

Ryton and Crawcrook manager Dave Hagan said: “We were poor in the first half, but scored a great equaliser. However, a goalkeeping error cost us the game, which was a bit harsh as he had an excellent first half.”