The Northern Echo Darlington Sunday Invitation League

This is thanks to a comfortable 9-1 victory over struggling Bishop Auckland Cricket Club that now puts them 14 points ahead of third placed Newton Aycliffe Sports Club who are the only team that can stop them winning the title. However, in order for that to happen, the Sports Club would need to win all five of their remaining games and hope that Coundon lose their last three games - a feat in itself as so far they have won all seventeen of their league games this season!

Meanwhile, East End WMC took advantage of the Sports Clubs game against Northern Echo being postponed as they moved three points ahead of the Sports Club in second place with a 6-2 victory over fifth placed Hurworth Albion. However, the EastEnders fine run of form has come too late as they now only have one league game left to play and could still end up finishing outside of the top three.

Fourth placed Nestfield Club suffered a shock at the weekend though, as The Brinkburn continued their fine run of results in their battle against the drop with a surprise 3-1 victory. However, they had to work hard for the victory, as a mistake from Dave Lewis allowed Gary Mitchell to put Nestfield 1-0 up early in the game, and they were lucky to only trail by the one goal at half time as they suffered an onslaught of pressure during a tense first period. The second half was a different story though, as The Brinkburn got themselves back on level terms within minutes of the re-start thanks to a goal from Dave Wilson. Steve Appleby then put the Brinkburn 2-1 ahead midway through the half with a nicely timed shot, before he doubled his tally and completed the scoring soon afterwards as Nestfield were caught out by a fine counter-attack.

In the only other division one game, Shuttle & Loom halted Spraire RA's recent good run of form with a hard fought 2-1 victory. Michael Dutton and Stuart Curry notched the Shuttle's goals, with Anthony McMaster striking for Spraire.

In Division Two, All Stars picked up all three points in their quest for the league title with a comfortable 6-1 victory over a Copper Beech DCS side that have suddenly hit a bad patch of form. Darren Kokes (2), Dean Lawson and Damian Franklin got amongst the goals for All Stars whilst DCS managed to put the ball through their own net twice as Matt Collinson scored in the right end for the hosts.

Killinghall Arms are still favourites for the Division Two championship though as they secured their promotion with a 4-2 victory over bottom placed Sadberge and extended their unbeaten league form to fourteen games this season. Danny Fleary (2), Michael Layton and Richard Snowdon notched the Killy's goals whilst Liam Lindley and Gary Bowman struck for Sadberge.

Meanwhile, AFC Orange's quest for promotion suffered a blow as they were beaten 1-0 by a Michael Latcham goal for fourth placed Bishop Auckland Derby, whilst Yates Wine Lodge remain in fifth place thanks to a 3-2 victory over Royal British Legion.

At the bottom end of the table, Canney Hill moved out of the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory over fellow strugglers Green Dragon. However, Canney Hill made hard work of the game against a Green Dragon side that started with only ten-men and then had their goalkeeper sent off before Mike Atkinson wrapped up the points with a goal fifteen minutes from time. Meanwhile, Grey Horse's 2-1 defeat by Jack Horners leaves them in a precarious position as only one point separates three teams trying to avoid finishing in the second relegation position. Michael Thraves and Matthew Jonas notched the goals for Jack Horners that leave the Grey Horse in the bottom two whilst veteran defender Gary Preston notched the Grey Horse goal.

With Peppers Draughting Services and FR Aviation's games, against Middleton St George Cricket Club and Sherwoods respectively, being postponed at the weekend, Hope Inn continued their push for promotion with a 6-0 victory over sixth placed Drinkfield United.

Elsewhere, Newton Cap's fine recent good run of form was brought to an end in dramatic style as Emcor produced a fine 4-0 victory, despite the game being goalless at half time. Man of the match Andrew Whitehead literally had a hand in Emcor's opener as his long throw alluded the entire Newton Cap defence to fall at the feet of Aidan Tate who made no mistake from close range. The advantage was doubled shortly after as Emcor took advantage of the visitors' defensive frailties as Stu Fawcett's hopeful free kick sailed straight into the net. Andy Sidebottom then had a goal disallowed in controversial circumstances as the ball was deemed to have gone out of play during his mazy run en-route to coolly striking the ball home. Instead, Paul Whitehead eventually scored the third goal before Stu Fawcett struck the final, and best, goal of the game as he curled home a peach of a free kick late in the game to complete the 4-0 victory.

Pizza Perfekt, meanwhile, are still challenging for promotion thanks to an 8-1 victory over AFC Aruba. Michael Weston's hat trick set the Pizzaboyz well on their way, whilst two own goals and further strikes from Andrew McCormick, Liam Coleman and Steven Payne gave the Pizzaboyz the points as they moved above Middleton St George Cricket Club into fourth place.

Elsewhere, Stu Boughen's first-half strike looked to set Royal Oak on the road to victory as they created numerous chances in their encounter against Cricketers. However, a failure by the Oak to turn the chances into goals came back to haunt them as Kevin Howlett's impressive turn and volley gave the Cricketers a share of the spoils.

In the remaining third division games, Haughton BAT came from behind to pick up all three points with a 3-1 away victory over The Falchion. Midfielder Dom Lund gave Falchion the lead as he cleverly chipped the Haughton 'keeper from 30 yards out, but despite several opportunities they failed to increase their lead. Haughton made them pay for their wastefulness in the second half as Haughton's slick passing lead to an equaliser through substitute Paul Cooper before man-of-the-match Paul Legg gave Haughton the advantage with a long-range shot. The game was then brought to a dramatic halt as Haughton were forced into a substitution as one of their centre-backs suffered a nasty broken leg, but Haughton weren't put off their stride, and Cooper finished the scoring late on with a simple tap-in to complete the turn-around.

Whilst Haughton struggled past Falchion, fellow promotion challengers AXA Insurance picked up a comfortable 9-0 victory over Smith & Allan. Both sides missed early chances before Barry Foster beat the offside trap to put AXA ahead. John Wilde then notched from the penalty spot to make the score 2-0 after he was brought down in the area. Smith & Allan had played some bright football in patches, but any hopes of a comeback disappeared in the three minutes just before half time as John Edgar drove the ball home from close range before John Wilde added a fourth with a stunning 25-yard chip.

The second half turned into the Andy Roote show, however. Having been controversially left out of the starting line-up, Roote notched all five of AXA's second half goals despite not entering the action until after the hour mark. Roote's first came following a great run and shot with his first touch of the game, and the pick of his five goals was a sublime volley from just inside the box following an inch perfect cross from Greg Wilde.

Further chances came and went as AXA tried to notch double figures for the first time in their history, but in the end they had to settle for nine.

Finally, Middleton St George Cricket Club and Central WMC finally concluded their first round Northern Echo League Cup tie. Central started the stronger side as they made their first division class tell with a series of chances in the opening few minutes. However, on the half hour Mark Shaun Hoy was brought down in the box to give the third division side a penalty, which Mark Brischuk calmly converted. Mike Lyons then made the score 2-0 to MSG as he despatched the ball home after rounding several Central defenders.

Central managed to get back into the game just before the break though, as Stu Cottam notched, and the second half saw Central continue the pressure as the MSG defence stood resolute. However, Central finally managed to equalise as Michael Bland scrambled the ball home after an almighty goalmouth scramble that involved two separate shouts for handball. With 15 minutes to go Central were then reduced to ten men as Chris Jackson's retaliation to a Martin Dove challenge saw the Central defender receive his marching orders. With MSG having the numerical advantage they piled on the pressure and, after creating several good opportunities, Mark Evans finally settled the tie in MSG's favour in the final five minutes as he dusted himself down and converted a penalty to make the final score 3-2 to MSG after he was brought down in the Central penalty area.

l Congratulations to Newton Aycliffe SC who reached the final of the Bishop Auckland Heart Foundation Cup for the second season running after defeating Etherley Dog and Gun 5-1 in the semi-final.