"We must kill teams off" --- Ainsley

Moors missed a string of chances to win the game, although they had a justifiable claim for a penalty for a foul on Liam Henderson in the closing minutes.

“Ironically, it’s the best we’ve played in recent weeks, but once again, missed chances have cost us,” he said. “To be fair, how the ref didn’t award a penalty for a blatant foul on Henderson in the last minute is beyond me but to be fair the officials were terrible for both teams. We need to start killing games off. They scored with one of only two shots on target all game, but they defended very well.”

Moors dominated the first half, but they couldn’t break through, even from a Henderson penalty that Steven Mundy pushed on to the bar.

Joe Walton hit the post as the chances went begging for Moors, and they paid the penalty when Sean Taylor fired across Peter Jeffries to put Morpeth into the lead on 63 minutes.

Moors piled on the pressure, and they finally levelled when a header by Bobby Moore was blocked, and Henderson scored from the loose ball.

Mundy pulled off another great save from a Henderson header, and in the last minute, Henderson was brought down, but Moors’ loud penalty appeals were turned down.

Nevertheless, Moors are now fourth on the table, with games in hand on the top two.

Celtic Nation made no mistake in their game and went top of the table with a 4-0 home win over Crook Town in front of a crowd of 548, the second biggest crowd of the season in the league, and a club record.

Recent signing Martyn Coleman put them into the lead from a Josh Allan flick, then he quickly fired a second by the half hour mark. Coleman completed his hat trick early in the second half, and Willie Gibson scored the goal of the game when he beat several defenders on a run from the left and fired past the Crook keeper.

Crook manager Gary Pearson said; “A tough game was made even tougher when keeper Barry Poskitt failed a late fitness test, and left us with 17 year old Sam Hogg in goal. We started the game well and it was an even contest for the first 20 minutes, but then Celtic scored from two mistakes by ourselves. During the second period we played with good control and quality but without ever really hurting them. They scored with the last kick of the game which made the scoreline look slightly unfair. We look forward to the next three games when we will be hoping to pick up more points to lift us up the table.”

West Auckland thumped Billingham Town 6-0, and are now just three points behind second placed Shildon with three games in hand.

Steve Richardson put West into the lead midway through the first half from a Robbie Briggs cross, and he rounded the keeper for the second on 57 minutes. Town battled hard, but they went 3-0 down on 73 minutes when sub Mattie Moffat beat two defenders and blasted in off the underside of the bar. He popped up again to get the fourth seven minutes later, and in the dying minutes Phil Bannister scored the fifth following a good run by Brian Close. Warren Byrne added another from close range.

West Auckland manager Peter Dixon said; “Billingham worked very hard with plenty of endeavour, but we had too much quality for them.”

A last minute winner gave Sunderland RCA a valuable three points at Consett in a 4-3 win.

The RCA took the lead when Kyle Fryatt beat two men and fired past Chris Elliott in the Consett goal, but new signing Jordan Mellish equalised with a header. Just on half time, Kyle Morris put RCA into the lead, and Carl Piecha put through his own goal to make it 3-1 at the start of the second half, but Luke Sullivan pulled one back with an overhead kick. Michael Mackay scored from a rebound off a Scott Canham shot, but right at the end Gavin Barton fired the winner as Consett failed to clear.

Sunderland RCA manager David Lee said; “It was a very good performance, which had the heart and passion that we have lacked in recent weeks.”

Consett manager Kenny Lindoe said; “We threw it away with poor defending and finishing aided by a couple of strange decisions which resulted in conceding goals. One step forward and two back.”

Team Northumbria stopped Guisborough from winning their seventh successive game, but a 2-2 draw still left them third bottom.

Peter Watling scored twice in the first 25 minutes to put Team Northumbria in the lead, but Mikey Roberts pulled a goal back from the penalty spot soon after, and at the start of the second half Dan Johnson equalised with his 27th league goal of the season.

Team Northumbria manager Paul Johnson said; “I’m happy we got something out of the game but also disappointed with losing a 2-0 lead. I thought we performed well against a good Guisborough side and with both teams hitting the woodwork a number of times and some great goalkeeping it could have been 4-4. We’ve picked up ten points from the last four games though so we’re progressing.”

Bedlington are now three points off the relegation zone after they were held to a 1-1 draw at Marske.

The home side took the lead on 16 minutes with a deflected 25 yard free kick by Craig Gott, but Bedlington levelled on 34 minutes through Paul Watson.

Both sides then had chances to win it, with Robbie Deane pulling off an excellent save in the Marske goal, while at the other end Marske had an effort cleared off the line.

Billingham Synthonia easily beat second bottom Hebburn 5-1 at Central Avenue, but it was Hebburn who took an early lead with an Alex Downey header. However, Synners levelled on 26 minutes through debutant Fred Woodhouse after Michael Sweet’s shot rebounded to him.

Tom Bott put Synners into the lead with a 25 yarder, then Woodhouse got the third from a David Hillerby pass before half time. Mattie Osmond fired the fourth with seven minutes left, and Sweet headed the fifth.

Billingham Synthonia assistant manager Lee Tucker said; “Our finishing was superb. The scoreline is unfair on Hebburn who battled away, but we have been unlucky recently losing games undeservedly, so it was nice to get the points.”

Hebburn manager Scott Oliver said; “It was a never a 5-1 game, but they scored some good goals. I’ve got no complaints.”

Whitley Bay, whose manager Ian Chandler is approaching ten years in charge, won their local derby 1-0 against Ashington at Hillheads, Chris Moore scoring the only goal of an entertaining game from a Michael McMullen pass just before half time.

Whitley Bay manager Ian Chandler said; “It was a great result and much improved performance against a good Ashington team. I’m very happy with the team’s effort today.”

Ashington assistant manager Perry Briggs said; “One mistake has cost us today, but if the referee had awarded us a penalty and sent their player off, it would have been a different game. We still had chances to get something out of the game.”

Second Division leaders North Shields thumped Brandon 6-0.

Brandon, who are hovering just above the relegation zone, held Shields to a goalless draw at half time, but then leaders bulldozed them in the second half.

Dean Holmes scored from a through ball to put them in the lead, and then he set up Dean Walker for the second. Sub Adam Scope got the third with a curler from 20 yards, then Gareth Bainbridge fired his 31st league goal of the season. Joe Elliott made it 5-0, and Bainbridge scored another near the end. It was the second time this season that Shields have scored six in a game, and they have now kept 13 clean sheets.

West Allotment came back from 3-2 down and won 4-3 at Tow Law.

Allotment started well enough, with player-manager Paul Stoneman and David Dormand scoring inside the first 20 minutes, but Lawyers hit back to lead by half time.

Dan Wilson, on his return to the club from Newton Aycliffe, pulled a goal back, and then Lewis Harrison and Scott Thompson put them 3-2 up at half time. But in the second half, Stephen Little and Michael Bell hit back for Allotment.

Before the game, Lawyers had a minute’s silence for former manager Stuart Leeming and long serving supporters Lily Craggs and Jeff Liddle, who have all passed away recently.

West Allotment player manager Paul Stoneman said; “We showed great character to come back from 3-2 down at half time. We started well, and went 2-0 up, then had a daft 15 minutes before the break. But the lads proved they can dig in and get a result on a very heavy pitch. I’m delighted with every one of them.”

Tow Law manager Gary Anderson said; “It was a very frustrating game. I thought we were miles away in the first half hour but came back into it and took a deserved lead. In the second half we gave away two sloppy goals but we worked hard and could have come away with at least a point.”

Third placed Heaton Stannington lost their promotion clash 2-1 against Seaham Red Star.

Seaham took the lead after 38 minutes with an Adam Johnston penalty after Joe Wear was red carded – Johnston’s 18th league goal of the season -- but Heaton levelled at the other end with another penalty through Jon Wright after Seaham defender David Short was sent off.

But seven minutes from the end, new signing Dean Nicholson got the winner from a Darryl Donnelly assist.

Heaton Stannington assistant manager Geoff Walker said; “It was a hard fought game on a heavy pitch. A draw would have been a fair result, but we missed a great chance at 1-1.”

Seaham Red Star manager Mark Collingswood said; “It was a deserved hard fought victory on a heavy pitch in a game of few clear cut chances. Dean Nicholson and Lewis Wing had great debuts and overall we deserved the three points.”

Jarrow Roofing are standing nicely in fourth with games in hand on the top three after a 6-3 victory at Stokesley.

The home side took the lead with a Stuart Browne header, but Roofing levelled when Andy Appleby ran through and beat Stokesley keeper James Fleming. Paul Gardiner put Roofing into the lead after half time from a Liam McBryde assist, then Stephen Young made it 3-1 from the spot after Appleby was fouled. Greg Peel pulled one back with a good effort, but Stuart Nicholson fired cleverly past Fleming to make it 4-2. Gardiner scored the fifth from an Appleby pass, and after Peel blasted a third from 25 yards for Stokesley, Jamie Marshall got the sixth.

Jarrow Roofing manager Richie McLoughlin said; “It was a hard game on a sticky pitch but credit to both sides for playing some good attacking football but in the end the best team won.”

Stokesley assistant manager Nicky Ward said; “I was disappointed after a good first 20 minutes and taking the lead, but too many individual errors cost us.”

Norton picked up three much needed points with a 1-0 win at home to Thornaby, even though they had Michael Joseph sent off. Nicky Martin scored the winner in the first half.

Thornaby manager Neil Radigan said; “We were disappointed to lose. We certainly deserved a lot out of the game. Our quality let us down at times, but we will bounce back next week.”

Norton manager Andy Campbell said; “I was very pleased to get three points because we deserved them. We created some good chances against a good side. I was disappointed to have Michael Joseph sent off, but we battled through.”

Northallerton also had a good 2-0 away win at Whickham to put them in seventh. They went close a couple of times before they took the lead through Dale Elgie from a Michael Stevens cross on 26 minutes, and then new signing Chris Burton headed in a cross from Colin Anderson. Whickham, who have a big Vase game against West Auckland next week, had Mark Pattinson red carded in the second half.

Whickham manager Robin Falcus said; “I was very disappointed with our performance, the best team won comfortably, We’ve tried since the summer to change the mindset of a lot of the players, but it’s still not sinking in. Things have got to change, we can’t go on like this.”

Washington continued their revival with a 4-1 away win at Alnwick. They took the lead with a goal by Mark Davison but Alnwick levelled through Dominic Schiavetta.

But then Alnwick had Kevin Elliott red carded, and Washington went on to win with further goals by Chris Winn, Paul Kane and James Fairley.

Washington manager Steve Hutchinson said; “We played some cracking football, everyone had very good games. The chances we had in the game could have put us into double figures. We had a penalty turned down, their keeper pulled off some good saves and we hit the bar and the post.”

In the Evo-Stik League, Whitby let a two goal lead slip against leaders Skelmersdale and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Steven Snaith and Graeme Armstrong put them 2-0 up by the 51st minute, but Tom Ince and Dean Astbury levelled for Skem.

Blyth’s game at Matlock was postponed