The Albany Northern League

He scored one of the goals in Crook's 2-1 win at Chester-le-Street last Saturday.

Crook secretary Alan Stewart said: "We had a phone call from Sunderland, asking us if they could use him in their Academy side, so we agreed.

"Michael has done well for us this season. He only played for his school team before he came to us, and also played a couple of games for the England Under-18 schoolboys."

The potential for problems in the proposed new referee system was highlighted at Tow Law last weekend.

The FA is setting up a new system of referees panels in the country from season 2002-03, which means that Northern League clubs could have officials from Manchester and Liverpool taking charge of games, and after an initial period of compensation, bear the full brunt of costs and expenses.

When Tow Law played Dunston on Saturday, the referee travelled from Carlisle, and one of his assistants from Whitehaven.

Tow Law manager Graeme Forster said: "The two of them travelled independently, so with their fees, the cost of the officials was more than £100, which is a lot of money when you have gates of just over 100."

on that basis, for a full season, Northern League clubs would have to find at least £2000 in order to stage home games.

And under the rules of the new system, clubs would have to pay a certain amount up front at the start and in the middle of every season.

West Auckland are holding a sportsmen's dinner on Thursday May 10 in their clubhouse. Former Liverpool centre half Ron Yeats is the guest speaker. Tickets cost £15, and are available from Stuart Alderson on (01388) 834211.

The kick-offs of two games tomorrow have been moved.

Crook will now play Whitley Bay at 1pm in the First Division, while Shotton play Evenwood at 2pm.

The game between Evenwood and Whickham was postponed on Wednesday because of the foot-and-mouth problems next to Evenwood's ground, but the club is hoping to receive the all-clear from MAFF to stage home games soon.

The League is almost certain to launch an enquiry into the events surrounding the abandonment of the second division game between Esh Winning and Penrith.

Match referee Russell Tiffin abandoned the match five minutes into the second half following an incident with a spectator, and police were called to the scene. Durham FA will probably also launch an investigation.

Esh Winning were leading 1-0 when the game was abandoned.

Dunston are now three points behind league leaders Durham City after winning 1-0 at second bottom Hebburn on Wednesday night.

Andy Fletcher scored the only goal of the game with a shot from the edge of the box after 77 minutes.

Bedlington are in third place, four points behind the leaders with eight games in hand, after a 3-0 home win over Peterlee.

They took the lead just before half time when Steve Boon scored from a right wing cross, then 12 minutes into the second half John Milner made a good run and set up Lee Ludlow to fire the second.

Milner then claimed his 49th goal of the season from the penalty spot after 58 minutes.

Morpeth are out of the relegation zone after they beat Seaham Red Star 4-0. David Beeby, Darryl Leech, Neil Burns and Robbie Traynor were the scorers.

They leapfrogged over Easington, who lost 3-0 at home to Jarrow Roofing.

The visitors took the lead after 32 minutes when Paul Chow beat three men and fired home, and despite Easington pressure, Roofing got the second after 78 minutes when Chow crossed for Tony Woodhouse to score with a shot on the turn.

Alu Banguera finished off the scoring from 25 yards.

Easington are now one point behind Morpeth, having played a game more.

Billingham Town beat bottom club Crook 1-0 in a scrappy game.

Paul Rowntree scored the goal that mattered on 30 minutes after a shot from Robbie Hutchinson was blocked.Town were short of several players and only had one sub, so Owen McGee played on the wing while injured.

Brandon continued their good run with a 1-0 home win over Consett, despite having Mike Elliott dismissed for a foul in the first half.

Andrew Cuthbertson scored after 65 minutes, while the closest Consett came to scoring was from an overhead kick by Chris Hodgson.

Tow Law won 3-2 at Newcastle Blue Star.

They took the lead when Peter Maughan beat three people and fired home, then Andy McKenna scored with a header from a free kick.

McKenna got another just after the restart, before Star launched a late fightback with goals from Chris Knox and Paul Hollier.

Ashington went four points clear at the top of the Second Division after winning 3-1 at Shildon. Greg Peary (2) and Ian Johnson scored, while Stephen Argyle replied.

Division One

P W D L F A Pts

Durham City 39 24 6 9 95 41 78

Dunston 35 23 6 6 85 43 75

Bedlington 31 24 2 5 90 24 74

Peterlee 36 21 8 7 70 46 71

Brandon 34 18 7 9 70 48 61

Billingham Syn 36 17 9 10 77 59 60

Marske 29 16 6 7 53 27 54

Billingham Town 28 16 4 8 52 32 52

Tow Law 32 14 5 13 69 56 47

Whitley Bay 32 13 8 11 56 44 47

Guisborough 36 13 7 16 49 52 46

Jarrow Roofing 35 11 11 13 55 58 44

Chester-le-Street 35 13 4 18 56 51 43

West Auckland 32 12 6 14 45 53 42

Consett 32 11 6 15 45 57 39

Newcastle Bl. St. 32 11 6 15 46 69 36

Seaham 34 11 2 20 50 93 35

Morpeth 31 7 5 19 40 69 26

Easington 32 7 4 21 42 71 25

Hebburn 35 5 7 23 32 89 22

Crook Town 32 2 3 27 28 128 9

Division Two

Ashington 31 21 5 5 91 39 68

Washington 31 18 10 3 70 28 64

Horden 32 19 5 8 50 31 62

Thornaby 30 17 7 6 66 46 58

Esh Winning 29 17 4 8 69 38 55

Norton 32 15 8 9 48 46 53

Willington 32 12 11 9 50 39 47

Northallerton 28 12 8 8 63 38 44

Penrith 28 11 10 7 46 41 43

Kennek Rpe. CA 32 11 10 11 42 43 43

South Shields 31 11 8 12 63 63 41

Prudhoe 33 12 4 17 65 63 40

Shildon 34 11 7 16 39 56 40

Murton 31 9 6 16 50 68 33

Shotton 31 8 9 14 43 66 33

Alnwick 28 6 11 11 40 49 29

Whickham 32 6 8 18 39 63 26

Evenwood 29 7 4 18 29 84 25

Eppleton 33 1 5 27 29 85