Bishop Auckland manager Colin Myers feels that his side have turned a corner after they drew 1-1 with Consett on Saturday.

Bishops played with ten men for two thirds of the game following the dismissal of defender Ibby Hassan for a last man foul, and they showed their character by fighting back and earning a point.

“I believe that the tide is turning now,” said Myers. “The players showed a lot of spirit and togetherness in the second half. And when those qualities come through, then results will come our way.

“We’re not having much luck though, we need to get some wins on the board.”

Hassan was dismissed on the half hour mark, when he brought down David Dowson and was adjudged to have denied him a goalscoring opportunity.

Consett took advantage and went in front just on half time, with a long range strike by Michael Sweet that flew past Bishops keeper Scott Pocklington.

Consett wasted three good chances to go further in front before Bishops finished the game strongly, and in the last minute Andy Johnson’s free kick was saved, but Shaun Ryder followed up and scored.

Bishops remain fourth from bottom, and are now five points clear of the relegation zone.

Shildon are up to fourth thanks to a 4-2 home win over Guisborough.

They took the lead with a free kick by Sam Hodgson on 17 minutes, but Louis Goldsack quickly equalised.

Matty Robson then fired the Railwaymen ahead with another free kick from 25 yards, then the in-form Billy Greulich-Smith fired the third just before the break, his fifth goal in four games.

Adam Burnicle made it 4-1 on 70 minutes, with a goal from Mason McNeil for Guisborough a consolation eight minutes from the end.

Shildon manager Danny Moore said; “We played really well in the first half in difficult conditions and deserved to be in front. It was a good game with two teams trying to play attacking football.”

Newton Aycliffe had a good 3-2 away win at Penrith that lifts them seven points above the relegation zone.

Penrith took the lead with a 20 yarder by Shaun Gardiner, but Andrew Grant-Soulsby equalised with a header before half time.

Gardiner put Penrith back into the lead from a free kick, but Aycliffe hit back on the hour with a good finish by Craig Hutchinson from a through ball. Kurt Matthews got the winner six minutes later with an effort from the edge of the box.

Newton Aycliffe manager Deano Browne said; “Penrith is a tough place to go and we started off really sloppy. I had a go at the players at half time and changed a few things. We were a lot better in the second half, and Penrith didn’t really get going and we took our chances.”

The Penrith manager Jim Nicholls resigned after the game with his team third from bottom.

In the second division, Darlington RA won the basement clash against Alnwick by 3-1 to go up to fifth from bottom.

Jim Wilson put the RA in front just on half time, but Lewis Coyle levelled for Alnwick. Mark Sims, with his sixth goal of the season, and Callum Bennett hit back for the RA to give them their fourth win of the season.

Darlington RA manager Peter Mulcaster said; “It was a good deserved win after a slow start.”

Chris Lax’s first game in charge of Crook Town saw them lose 2-0 at Jarrow, for whom Nick Quinn and Josh Allen scored. Because of Darlington RA’s win, Crook have now dropped to fourth from bottom.

“There were plenty of positives even with a scratch team out,” said Lax. “There was nothing in the game which was spoilt by the strong wind. Two goalkeeping errors cost us.”

Esh Winning continued their improvement by easily beating Durham City 5-0 at Waterhouses to put them eighth in the table. Recent signing Connor Halpin scored twice, as did Nick Marley, with Dagan Taylor also chipping in. Esh scored four times in the second half.

Durham manager Olly Hotchkiss said; “We deserved to lose. Esh wanted to win the game more and battled very well. We weren’t good enough at all.

Esh Winning manager Tony Boakes said; “It was a great result for us and a well-deserved win.”

Willington lost 1-0 at home to Heaton Stannington, Dan Robinson scoring the goal that puts the visitors fourth.

Willington manager Rob Lee said; “We played well today, and deserved something out of the game. A penalty and an offside decision cost us. We deserved at least a point.”

Chester-le-Street drew 1-1 with West Allotment in their bottom four clash. Joshua King put them ahead on 52 minutes, but Allotment equalised nine minutes from time through Bruno Mendes-Correia. Chester had midfielder Craig Marron dismissed when they were a goal up.

Chester-le-Street manager Colin Wake said; “We’re really disappointed with the result after creating so many chances to put the game to bed in the first half. To then lead 1-0 and Craig Marron get himself sent off for two silly bookings changed the game. We dug in deep and tried to throw the game away on numerous occasions in the last 15 minutes with what I can only describe as players making junior football decisions but we held on for a point. Frustrating is the word at the end of the day.”

Brandon, who are looking for a new manager following the resignation of Lee Jewett, were beaten 3-2 at home by Blyth AFC after they led 2-1 with seven minutes left. Kyle Wren and Aaron Jackson put them 2-1 up before Liam Gillesphey and Damien Stevens scored late on.