A last-gasp goal by Sean Hope lifted Bishop Auckland out of the relegation zone of the UniBond League First Division against Leek Town on Saturday.

Hope was on hand in the dying seconds of the game to force the ball home and put Bishops into third bottom place, above Eastwood Town and Trafford.

Relieved manager Brian Honour said: "It was virtually the last kick of the match, but it would have been a travesty if we'd lost the game.

"Our problem was that we conceded a sloppy goal, and we had to play catch-up football again.

"But the point is valuable to us, because it lifts us out of the bottom two, and that's progress."

Leek got off to a good start and took the lead after 17 minutes when Richard Mitchell scored, and they could have scored more against a hesitant Bishops defence.

But Bishops improved in the second half, and finally got a point in the last minute when Hope's header hit the post from Phil Ross' free-kick, but he followed up to score from the rebound. Spennymoor are out of the Presidents Cup following a 3-1 defeat at Runcorn.

Assistant manager Jason Ainsley said: "We had a poor spell in the first half in which we gave away three bad goals. The second half was much different and the attitude was spot on."

Matty McGinn scored from a Steve Hutt mistake after 26 minutes, and then Lee Parle was left unmarked to score the second.

Dave Gamble made it 3-0 from a free-kick, before Moors pulled a goal back in an improved second half through Steve Preen.

Gateshead beat Harrogate Town in the League Cup with a goal by Rob Jones, while Blyth beat Frickley 3-0 in the Chairman's Cup, but they had Steve Stewart dismissed before half-time.