This week saw most teams involved the first round of The Northern Echo League Cup, and as ever with the cup there was a fair share of shock results and high drama.

The shock result of the day came in the match between Division Three leaders AFC Orange and high-flying Division One side Nestfield Club. As would be expected from two sides performing so well this season, the first half was very tight, and it was no surprise that it ended goalless, despite some good football from both sides. However, the difference between the two sides was to come from Orange's recent signing Stu Cottam, and it was Cottam who broke the deadlock as he ran on to a fine ball from Steve Walton to give Orange a 1-0 lead. However, Nestfield are renowned for their dogged determination, and it wasn't long before they levelled the game up, as Gary Mitchell put a clinical header past Orange's 'keeper following some fine play down the Nestfield right. However, Orange showed the sort of class that has only seen them beaten once this season, ironically by Nestfield Seconds, as Chris Wardell tapped the ball into an empty net after a fine attacking move. Orange then sealed the victory as Stu Cottam's pace once more left the Nestfield defence for dead, and he kept his composure to slot the ball home and seal a 3-1 victory for the third division side.

Meanwhile, fellow third division high-flyers, Yates's Wine Lodge played Division One side, The Brinkburn. However, Yates's were on the end of a fine first half performance from Brinkburn as goals from Steve Johnston, Chris Clack and Dave Lewis gave Brinkburn a 3-0 lead at the break. However, Yates's came out of the half-time break like a completely different side, and brought the scores back to 3-2, before the Brinkburn added a fourth.

A third Yates's goal gave them hoe of causing an upset, but Brinkburn hung on to win 4-3.

Yates's scorers were Paul Spinks (2) and the lethal Chris Chadwick.

First Division strugglers Green Dragon were well-beaten thanks to an impressive performance from Shuttle & Loom of the second division. Kev Baines top-scored for the Shuttle with a hat-trick, whilst Paul Soderman, Paul Hutchinson and Mike Dutton were also on the score sheet. Norm Brough and Matthew Smith hit two late goals for the Dragon.

In another game involving first division versus second division, The Northern Echo came out well on top against Bishop Auckland Derby. The Echo took the lead midway through the first half thanks to a superb individual goal from Garry Pallas, and he soon doubled his tally to give the Echo a well-earned 2-0 lead at the interval. Darren Stanley's goal early in the second half increased the Echo's lead, and John Neilson then hit a quick fire double to put the Echo into a commanding 5-0 lead. Pallas completed his hat-trick to make the score 6-0, and his hat-trick exploits were soon equalled by John Neilson, whose spot-kick made the score 7-0 before Darren Dye scrambled a consolation.

Copper Beech DCS were given an early shock in their game against third division strugglers Faverdale as Wayne Turner gave them a deserved lead. However, a fine header from Darren Riley turned the game in Beech's favour, and they raced into a 5-1 lead soon after half-time as Riley added two more goals, and Kev Myers and Jeff Coates found the back of the Faverdale net. The away team wasn't going to go down without a fight though, and Turner struck his second of the game to give Faverdale hope. However, Tim Usher sealed the game with a late strike to give Beech a deserved 6-2 victory.

Northern Spirit were knocked out of the Northern Echo League Cup last season by Royal British Legion, but this season's draw gave them a chance for revenge as the two sides were paired against each other. However, Spirit were left to rue wasted chances as the Legion took the lead midway through the first half thanks to a fine overhead kick from Paul Barber. Spirit got themselves back into the game as Simon York converted his penalty with some conviction after Steve Crutchley was felled in the box, but a fine header late in the half from Michael Meredith put the Legion 2-1 up at the break. Spirit pushed hard, and were rewarded when Dave Brown capped a fine solo run with a lob over the Legion keeper. However, as Spirit pushed they were caught on the counter-attack by the Legion, and Trevor Cooke struck a fine shot from the edge of the box to put the Legion into the hat for the second round.

Nestfield Seconds eased into the second round of the competition as they ran out 12-0 winners against fellow Division Three side AXA Insurance. Adi Weston started the rout from the penalty spot and went on to score a magnificent seven as man of the match Chris Jenkinson ran the midfield for the Seconds. Dave Hubble bagged a brace whilst Mark Stobie's 25-yard chip and a goal apiece from Flint and Welsh completed the scoring.

Division One leaders Spraire RA eased past Pizza Perfekt of Division Three 7-1. Second division strugglers Smith & Allan produced a much more convincing display against third division opposition than their league displays this season, but they still succumbed 5-3 to Newton Cap, whilst division two leaders Hurworth Albion dumped division three high-flyers Canney Hill out of the competition as they eased past 6-0. Sadberge were defeated by lower division opposition as Biglins News beat them 3-2, and Team Scania were well beaten by Allstars, as the second division side racked up an impressive 14-1 victory.

In the remaining cup games Jack Horners squeezed past Division Two rivals Bishop Auckland Cricket Club 2-1 and Speedwell made no mistake of their place in the second round as they beat second division Greyhound 5-0.

In the only league game East End WMC took all three points in their game against Springfield thanks mainly to a four-goal haul for Jimmy Morris. Neil Jackson and Neil Godfrey also got on the score-sheet as the EastEnders racked up a 6-1 victory. Nigel Clarke notched Springfield's consolation goal.

Bowman Anderson Accountants Spennymoor Sunday League

HORNDALE were brought back down to earth last week when rivals Huntsman beat them in the League.

Horndale won their first game of the season two weeks ago when they beat Laceys 4-1 in the B&A Trophy to progress to the quarter-finals.

But in-form Huntsman - who haven't been beaten since the first game of the season - comfortably overpowered the bottom side.

James Alderson returned to haunt his former club when the centre back helped to inflict the 6-0 defeat.

The 23-year-old, who signed for Huntsman only a month ago, put in a fine display to impress his new gaffer Stuart Hodgson.

Braces by Morgan Fielding, Marc De Lucia and Wayne Marram was enough to clinch the three points against their pitchside rivals.

And Hodgson singled out the goalscorers - as well as Alderson - for their performances.

"I thought James had an excellent game," said Hodgson. "He's a very composed defender and looks comfortable on the ball. That's why I wanted to bring him to the Huntsman.

"I thought our two strikers had fine games. De Lucia has only just come back after missing a few games, but you wouldn't have thought so - he linked up well with Marram."

Horndale manager Michael Grimes was disappointed with his side's display. "We've talked about confidence, and as soon as Huntsman got a couple of goals our heads just went down. They need a kick up the backside!"

Elsewhere in Division One, Europa beat Salvins 2-1 thanks to two goals by Anthony Forest. John Robson scored for Salvins. Old Shildon beat The Grand 5-2 with goals by Darren Plaice (2), Phillip Appleby, Paul Whensley and Paul Shaw. Kevin Priestly got both for the Grand. Laceys drew 3-3 with Brandon.

Eldon Lane progressed to the semi-finals of the First Division Cup with a 2-1 win over Royal George. Michael Paterson and Wayne Clayden netted for Eldon, with Daryll Meadows scoring the George's goal.

In Division Two, Binchester Social Club enjoyed an 8-0 win over Two Blues. Brian Cant opened the scoring when he reacted first after the ball broke loose in the penalty area. Jeff Morrow made it two before Paul Foster grabbed the goal of the game, and Scott Smith netted Binchester's fourth before half-time.

Their man-of-the-match Terry Little curled a shot round the keeper before Morrow, Cant and Smith all netted their second of the game to complete the rout. MOM for Two Blues was Timmy Hutchinson.

Spennymoor Thorns beat Brauns Den 4-1 thanks to goals by Mark Russell (2), Julian Jordan and Steven Richardson.

Broompark Loves beat Victoria 5-2, with Michael Howard, Terry Nelson, Ben Roffe, Neil Bacon and Brent Naylor all getting on the scoresheet. James Smith and Adam Cunningham scored for the Vic.

Green Tree defeated Shildon Athletic 5-1 thanks to goals by Darren Rutter (2), Darren Johnston (2) and Craig Burner.

Other Division Two results: Binchester Hotel 0, Postchaise 6; Masons United 2, North Briton 1; Black Horse 5, Boot & Shoe 2.

l Committee members and clubs of the Spennymoor Sunday League would like to wish Andy Heatherington a speedy recovery after the popular referee was taken ill last week. Andy is a highly-respected official and is also on the league's committee. The league is delighted to see Andy making such a good recovery, and the thoughts of his colleagues - both league and club officials alike - are with him and his family during this time.

l The league would also like to thank everyone who bought and sold tickets for the Christmas Raffle. The draw was made on Wednesday, December 12, and the winning ticket numbers were as follows: 1st Prize of £200: Ticket No. 2227; 2nd £100: 1633; 3rd £50: 1147; 4th £25: 1513; 5th 6 bottles of spirits: 774; 6th 5 bottles of spirits 576; 7th 4 bottles of spirits: 4625; 8th 3 bottles of spirits: 4864; 9th 2 bottles of spirits 4503. The following 11 ticket numbers each won one bottle of spirit: 4880, 9226, 8384, 2578, 5647, 8083, 2327, 8517, 5499, 416, 5529. Strictly no ticket, no prize.

Division One

P W D L F A Pts

New Masons 12 9 1 2 41 25 28

Old Shildon 12 8 1 3 47 21 25

Huntsman 11 7 3 1 44 24 24

Newton Aycliffe 9 7 1 1 41 18 22

The Grand 11 6 1 4 30 25 19

Europa 10 6 1 3 28 24 19

Royal George 12 5 1 6 28 33 16

Eldon Lane 11 3 3 5 29 35 12

Salvins 11 3 1 7 33 29 10

Laceys 11 2 3 6 27 46 9

Brandon 13 1 2 10 23 60 5

Horndale 11 0 2 9 17 48 2

Division Two

P W D L F A Pts

Spennymoor Thorns 16 15 0 1 94 21 45

Broompark Loves 15 13 1 1 77 15 40

Binchester Social Club 14 11 1 2 44 22 34

Postchaise 16 10 1 5 59 41 31

*Black Horse 13 10 1 2 58 27 28

Brawns Den 14 8 0 6 50 31 24

Masons United 15 7 3 5 37 30 24

Green Tree 14 6 0 8 33 48 18

Boot & Shoe 15 5 1 9 35 62 16

North Briton 17 5 0 12 43 51 15

Victoria 16 4 3 9 27 63 15

Locomotion 12 4 1 7 36 38 13

Shildon Athletic 14 4 1 9 32 50 13

Two Blues 14 3 1 10 30 66 10

Pit Laddie 14 3 0 11 27 60 9

Binchester Hotel 15 2 0 13 22 79 6

*Denotes three points deducted

Darlington and

District League

Grammar School Old Boys maintained their run of good recent form with a 6-3 win against Rothmans. Stuart Alderson was their man of the match with a hat-trick and their total was completed by Jim Gallagher (2) and Mark Sowerby. Davids Hunter, Holmes and Robinson replied.

DSRMSC who have been on the receiving end of some heavy defeats recently were quickest out of the traps and within half an hour led Greyhounds 2-0. Greyhounds cut the deficit through Andrew Mackintosh and the same player created the equaliser with a well directed free-kick which home keeper Stephen Hoare topped onto the bar and Dave Wilson followed up to tap home. The second half was all Greyhounds pressure but DSRM clung on for a deserved first point of the season.

For the second week running Killinghall Arms were involved in a goal-less draw this time with Speedy Hire but they only had themselves to blame as they struck the bar and squandered a host of chances - including a missed penalty.

East End WMC and Newton Aycliffe met for the second successive week this time in the League Challenge Cup but this time it was Newton Aycliffe bolstered by the return of influential defender Darren Griffiths who were victorious by 2-0, courtesy of a first half effort from Mark Wetheridge and then in the second from Patrick Pisani.

The Grey Horse-Archdeacon tie was postponed when only five Grey Horse players turned up.

Albion were on top in the first half of their encounter with leaders Post Boy but having failed to convert several good chances fell a goal behind when Peter Robson latched onto a 45-yard back pass to put the home side in front. Gary Campbell added a second early in the second half and with Albion pushing forward Post Boy hit them on the break to serve a further three times through Robson and Adrian Jones.

Kevin Baines on his debut for Shuttle and Loom scored his side's leveller against a very able RA Social but a missed penalty cost them dear and they bowed out of the competition 3-1 the RA's goals coming from Michael Weston, Steven Boyle and Nigel Clark