Northallerton manager Darren Trotter said that his team must cut out their unnecessary mistakes after they dropped into the bottom three following a 2-1 home defeat by Bishop Auckland on Saturday.

Northallerton led at one stage, but then gave away two penalties and presented Bishops with the points, to drop them into relegation trouble.

Trotter said; “It was another game where we should have got something.

“We played some good football and probably created the best chances of the game, but we are constantly playing at our limits and the pressure in our box again has meant we have conceded two cheap penalties “We are getting there but we must cut out the unnecessary mistakes.”

It was all Town in the opening stages, and they took the lead through Dave Hillerby off a rebound, but just on half time, Town gave away a penalty when Callum Munro was brought down and Michael Hoganson converted for Bishops.

Northallerton pressed for the winner in the second half, but it was Bishops who scored it right at the end when a foul by Dan Jones on Chris Winn gave Bishops another penalty that Hoganson fired home.

Bishop Auckland manager Ian Chandler said; “We’re delighted with the three points, but the performance was poor. There were some good displays from Callum Munro. Michael Hoganson and Chris Winn.”

Newton Aycliffe also scored a late penalty to give them the points against Whitley Bay by 2-1 at Moore Lane.

Whitley took the lead on 52 minutes through Josh McDonald, but Aycliffe levelled through Sam Read from a right-wing cross, then in stoppage time Dean Thexton scored from the spot.

Manager Colin Stromsoy said; “It was an outstanding performance overall. We should have been 3-0 up at least at half time after totally dominating the first half. Whitley came back into it second half, latched onto a defensive error and snatched a lead. Players showed great character and quality to win the game in added time. We move on to a tough game against Sunderland Ryhope in midweek.”

Aycliffe are now fifth in the table, just three points off the top three.

West Auckland drew 1-1 at Sunderland RCA. David Dowson gave them the lead from the penalty spot on 36 minutes, but Dylan Elliott levelled for RCA just on half time.

West Auckland manager Gary Forrest said; “I’m frustrated. We should have been out of sight in the first half and ended up hanging on.”

Shildon were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Seaham Red Star, their third successive game without a win.

Dan Wilson put second bottom Seaham into the lead, but Shildon had striker Billy Greulich-Smith to thank for the equaliser six minutes into stoppage time.

In the other games, Hebburn are now seven points clear at the top after winning 4-3 at Whickham, while Stockton Town’s 100 per cent record in the league was ended by a 2-2 draw with Consett at Bishopton Road West.

In the second division, Durham City lifted themselves off the bottom of the table with a 4-2 away win at Esh Winning.

The home side led with two goals by Channon North, but Durham belied their lowly position to hit back and win through strikes by Callum Banki (2), Joe Collins and Junior Masandi.

Esh Winning manager Tony Boakes said; “We were nowhere near good enough. We were 2-0 up, but then it was all Durham – fair play to them. They’re a young side and grafted all game.”

Crook Town went down 2-1 at Billingham Synthonia, not recovering from the hosts scoring twice in the first 20 minutes. Dane Elringham scored for Crook just after half time.

Crook manager Jamie Tunstall said; “It was very much a tale of two halves. Everything went wrong first half, two injuries in the first 20 minutes was the least of our worries as Billingham caused us a lot of problems and we never played anywhere near our potential. Second half we scored early and after that it was one-way traffic. Based on chances we probably deserved three points so not to come away with one leaves a bit of a sour taste.”

Willington were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Heaton Stannington, coming back from two goals down for a point.

Jon Wright and Dan Sayer scored for Heaton, but Vinny Gash and Ryan Cummings hit back for Willington.

Manager Ibby Hassan said; “Having gone 2-0 down I thought the character and grit of the team really came to the fore and I couldn't have been happier with their reaction. We've found ourselves behind in games over the past couple of weeks, chased it and been punished so to respond the way we did was good.

“The habit of conceding cheap goals needs to stop though. Heaton Stan are a solid team and it was an entertaining game. “ Brandon are now bottom of the table after they were beaten 3-0 at home by Carlisle City Manager Rob Bowron said; “We weren't great again. Clearly Sean's sending off is a key moment, and really left up and upward battle. No complaints over the decision. And then to concede on the stroke of half time was another kick. It's just not going for us at present - but the only way to get out of this is to work harder!”

Chester-le-Street had a good 2-1 win over Jarrow, Michael Hepplewhite scoring the winner after his earlier goal had been cancelled out.

Chester-le-Street manager Colin Wake said; “It was a hard fought 2-1 win against a good well organised Jarrow outfit. We were decent in the first half but never really got going second half with Jarrow upping the tempo. We defended well for long periods and one bit of good play between Harrison Scott and Michael Hepplewhite got us the winner. And we held on for the final 15 minutes.”

Tow Law lost to the only goal of the game at home to third placed Ryton and Crawcrook.

Tow Law manager Micky Vasey said; “The first half was scrappy, but second half we dominated the game and missed chance after chance and the result did not reflect the game.”

In the other games, Redcar are still unbeaten at the top after a 3-2 away win at Newcastle University West Allotment are hard on their heels after beating Bedlington 5-1.