Football round-up
Ebac Northern league
West Auckland Town... 6
Whitley Bay.................. 0
WEST produced their best performance of the season with a thrashing of Whitley Bay at the Wanted Stadium.
Striker Corey Nicholson was at the centre of things with a hand in five of the goals, while 16-year-old Ryan Wright bagged a brace with his first goals for West.
Birthday boy boss Gary Forrest made three changes from the previous week’s squad with Jamie Cobain coming in for Gary Brown who dropped out of the squad due to illness.
Andre Bennett came in for the injured Jordan Lavery and a fit Adam Mitchell reclaims his place from Kyle Fryatt.
It took just eight minutes for West to go ahead when Nicholson found Blinco who slipped the ball past Dan Lister in the Bay goal.
For the remainder of the half, chances were few and far between on both sides.
The first half ended with assistant referee Robert Halliday pulling a hamstring. After a tannoy announcement was made, Muyael Jung, a Korean student studying at Durham University who is registered with Durham FA stepped forward to run the line for the second 45 minutes.
This was his third game of the day as he had officiated two grassroots games before heading to West.
Seven minutes into the second half West doubled the lead through Anthony Bell, who met a Nicholson cross.
Nicholson then chalked up his hat-trick of assists when he set up Mitchell who made it 3-0.
The Bay defence couldn’t cope and on 63 minutes Nicholson made sure his name was on the score sheet when he picked up a looping ball, charged through and slipped it past Lister.
Things went from bad to worse for Whitley Bay as they were reduced to ten men when Jamie Dunn was ordered to the sin bin for ten minutes by referee Johnathan Gill. Coming on as a 77th minute sub, young Ryan Wright took just four minutes to bag his first goal for West, pouncing on the rebound when Lister couldn’t hold on to a powerful Nicholson shot.
A minute later Wright was in the right place to follow up and make it 6-0 when an Anthony Bell shot came back off the bar.
Next up for West is another home game next Saturday when Ashington are the visitors. Auckland will want revenge for the 4-0 defeat in August. Kick-off is at 3pm.
Dave Bussey
Crook and District League
BARNARD Castle had an afternoon to forget when they lost to Middlestone Moor for the second week in a row.
Barney went a goal down in the opening minutes, but despite pulling level through a Lewis Robinson piledriver, the side was always chasing the game.
After going into the break 2-1 in arrears, Moor took charge to run out 6-2 winners. Phil Merryweather was Barney’s other scorer.
Glaxo Rangers enjoyed an excellent win against Heighington in the South Durham Charity Bowl.
Striker Jamie McDougall scored twice and Robert Lumsden added a third as Rangers ran out 3-2 winners.
This weekend, Rangers host Barney in the league, while Evenwood Town are at home to Willington WMC in the Auckland Charity Cup.
Wear Valley Sunday League
IT was a chastening day for the dale’s two sides.
Toft Hill were on the wrong end of a 7-0 defeat at the hands of West Auckland Sports Bar, while Gainford lost 8-2 at Coundon WMC, with Ben Moore and Adam Peart notching for Gainford.
Darlington Sunday
Morning Invitation League
MIDDLETON Wanderers enjoyed at excellent 4-1 home win against Darlington Rolling Mills.
The win keeps Middleton in mid-table, with 16 points from nine games. Staindrop Wheatsheaf are one place above Middleton, with 21 points, also from nine games.
