MARK BECK fired Harrogate Town into the first round proper of the FA Cup by winning at Halifax 2-1.

Beck has scored five goals this season and three of them have been against Halifax, with two settling the Yorkshire FA Cup derby at The Shay.

Halifax’s Tobi Sho-Silva went close first when he raced in on goal and forced goalkeeper James Belshaw into a decent sixth-minute save. Two minutes later the visitors were in front.

Brendan Kiernan crossed from the right and Liam Nolan headed against his own crossbar. Beck was there to hammer in the rebound from close range.

Harrogate looked to have been ruing missed opportunities when Halifax levelled early after the restart when Niall Maher met a low centre from the right and side-footed past Belshaw.

But Beck was at it again with 54 minutes on the clock. Harrogate worked a throw-in from the right into the feet of Jamie Muldoon and he sent a low ball across the face of goal for Beck, who got in front of his marker. That was how it stayed.

Harrogate: Belshaw, W Smith, Hall, G Smith, Burrell, Falkingham, Kiernan (Thomson 81), Diamond, Beck, Muldoon (Stead 85). Subs (not used): Cracknell, Taylor, Brown, Emmett, Bradley.

YORK City boss Steve Watson has praised his players for "stepping up" in the 2-0 win over higher-tier Stockport County.

After hard-fought wins at lower-level outfits Buxton and Irlam in the previous rounds, and a challenging 1-1 draw at Telford in the league, City were back to their best.

Goalscorers Alex Kempster and man-of-the-match Sean Newton are the easiest players to single out for praise, but the performance across the board could scarcely be faulted.

Watson told the York Press: "Some of the lads who were maybe below-par at Buxton and Irlam, they went the other way tonight and really stepped up. Bondy and Taity, I think they would admit that Buxton wasn't their brightest moment. I thought Bondy was exceptional, he was composed and was a real big-game player, among ten others."

A big positive from the game was the long-awaited return of livewire striker Dan Maguire, who looked no worse off for his two-month lay-off, and was every bit the harrying force he had been in pre-season - even more so.

Watson said: "Since he's come back, he looks free again. Despite the size of him, he's a real threat to defences in our league and the league above.”

York City: Jameson, Griffiths, Tait, McNulty, Newton, Ferguson, Moke, Bond, Maguire (McLaughlin 71), Kempster, Burrow. Subs (not used): Dyer, Spratt, Langstaff, Durrell, Whitley, McFarlane

GATESHEAD progressed to the FA Cup first round proper with a 5-0 victory over Colne at the International Stadium.

Josh Kayode’s sixth of the season put the hosts in front at the break and he won and saw a penalty saved eight minutes after the restart, only for JJ O’Donnell to convert at the third attempt to double the advantage.

Greg Olley, Paul Blackett and Jordan Preston all sheen to the scoreline late on as Colne couldn’t find a way back into it and ended up being hit as they looked to turn things around.

Despite being two leagues below Gateshead in the football pyramid, Colne started on the front foot and looked to make things happen early on.

But once Gateshead took the lead with 26 minutes gone there was no way back for the visitors.

Gateshead: James, Nicholson, Lees, Williamson, Barrow; Deverdics (Oliver 71), Agnew; O’Donnell (Blackett 82), Olley, Tear; Kayode (Preston 69). Subs (not used): Guthrie, Nelson, Forbes.