Cestrians on the up in fine style

Ebac Northern League

Chester-le-Street rose to 13th place in Division Two, well clear of trouble, thanks to Saturday’s 3-1 home success against Ryton & Crawcrook Albion.

Michael Hepplewhite’s 17th-minute strike set them on their way, although Mason Stephenson equalised on 37 minutes.

Second-half goals from Alex White and Dominic Laws sealed the win for Colin Wake’s men.

Easington Colliery found high-flying Tow Law Town too strong for them, going down 3-0.

Two goals from the prolific Dean Thexton, plus a Liam Whitworth effort, did the damage, with Chris Pearson missing a late penalty for Easington.

Durham City remained in sixth place after a narrow 2-1 victory at lowly Darlington RA.

The game came to life in the second half, with two Bradley Hird strikes sparking City before Mark Sims hit a last-gasp consolation for RA.

Esh Winning roared back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home to Hebburn Town.

Channon North and Paul Chow gave Hebburn a great start, scoring inside 10 minutes. The fightback began when Nick Marley pulled one back on 26 minutes and he equalised five minutes later.

Crook Town edged a thrilling 4-3 win at Alnwick Town. Kyle Morris with goals in the 16th and 24th minutes, gave Crook a 2-0 lead. James Jackson (36) and Christopher Laidlaw (43), levelled things up, before Morris completed his hat-trick on 66 minutes.

Alnwick fought back again to make it 3-3, through Tony Brown’s 69th-minute effort, but Christian Holliday hit the visitors’ winner, with just two minutes left.