In the Villa Real Cup third round, Division One side Newton Aycliffe defeated Premier club Darlington Croft 3-2 at home.

Darlington opened in fine style and took an early lead but Aycliffe refused to be over-awed and fought back to draw level shortly before the break courtesy of a Stuart Hawson goal. The restart saw the hosts applying the pressure and going into a 2-1 lead when Hawson scored his second goal of the match, now on top Aycliffe went 3-1 up through a Neil Morris goal. Two minutes from time Croft scored to end the game 3-2 to Aycliffe.

Division Two Billingham Town lost 3-2 at home to Division Three team Boldon Black Bull. Billingham struggled in the opening stages and were lucky to end the first half only 2-0 down to a lively Boldon side. The restart saw Billingham making a determined come-back and Boldon were now on the receiving end. Two fine goals from Paul Twizzell put them level and only desperate defending by Boldon prevented them from taking the lead. IN the closing minutes Billingham pushed forward for the winner but were caught out at the back when Boldon grabbed the winner from a breakaway down the right.

Barnard Castle Glaxo lost 4-5 on penalties to the Lord Seaham. The visitors opened the scoring but close on half time the Castle levelled when Alan Gates headed home a Geoff White corner. Shortly after the restart Gates made it 2-1 when power headed home a cross from Murdoch. Failure to clear a last minute corner saw the Lord Seaham slam home the loose ball and force extra time and eventually win 5-4 on penalties.

Consett lost 5-3 at home to Premier side Marden. Leading 3-1 at one period they faded late on, allowing Marden to score twice and draw level and force extra time where two further goals saw the visitors win 5-3.

Division Two side Wynyard Veterans lost 1-4 to Premier side Killingworth Arms. Wynyard opened the scoring and for a time were the better side until 50-year old Bobby Holmes equalised and just on half time Stephen Frizzell headed home a cross from Neil Howie to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. The restart saw Killingworth go 3-1 up from a Paul Halley solo effort and the issue was settled when Paul Hodgson scored from a right angle to make it 4-1 up.

Division Three promotion favourites Langley Park Rams Head were not disgraced when they lost 8-4 to Premier side Norton Stockton, to score four goals against a Premier team is always a great achievement. From being 2-0 down they fought back to draw level, then fell behind 4-2, then came again to pull it back to 4-3. Next down to 6-3 then 6-4 before two further goals in the dying minutes made it 8-4. Their fighting spirit shows their initiative to win promotion this season. The Ram's hero was Michael Hughes who scored all their four goals.

Premier Division leaders Ferryhill Greyhound won through, they defeated Crook Town, Division Three promotion hopefuls 1-0 at home in a game in which Crook excelled themselves. Ferryhill took the lead after seven minutes through Geoff Mason and from then on Crook held them but could not penetrate their rock solid defence. It was a match which was wide open until the final whistle, the victory going to Ferryhill but every credit to Crook Town for a marvellous fighting display.

In Division Two, Darlington Railway lost 2-1 at home to Spring Gardens. Just on half time Ronnie Skinner gave the visitors a 1-0 lead only for Darlington to quickly draw level after the restart. The visitors scored through Colin McAlister who netted in a goal mouth melee to win 2-1 late on in the match.

In Division Three, Durham C Strollers won 3-2 away to Regency Windows to go joint top of the Division with Taylors. All the goals came in the first half. First of all Trevor Robson missed a penalty, putting the ball high over the bar but made amends by scoring minutes later. Kevin Doyle made it 2-0 for the hosts but Durham rallied and three quick goals gave them a 3-2 interval lead and also won the game.

In Division Four, Wynyard Old Boys lost 2-0 away to Winstons. There was nothing in the game between the two sides except Winstons capitalised on their scoring chances whereas the Old Boys either shot wide or over the bar, the match could have gone either way.