Horden seal win but it’s not Plain sailing

Horden were forced to come from behind to claim all three points in their home Wearside League game against Annfield Plain.

Kai Hewitson edged the visitors in front on 19 minutes – but Horden claimed the win thanks to a goal in each half from Robbie Renwick and a header from Andrew Lonsdale.

Reigning champions Hebburn Town Reserves moved to within two points of a place in the top three as Gary Crutwell and Harry Munday found the net in their 2-0 win at Darlington RA.

Niall Crosby was Coxhoe Athletic’s match-winner as they claimed their first league win of the season against Silksworth CW.

Athletic went ahead midway through the first-half thanks to a Graham Stephenson goal – but they were pegged back immediately by an equaliser from Tom Scott.

Coxhoe had to wait for their winning goal but it finally arrived in injury-time as Niall Crosby pounced to get his side off the mark for the season.

And Richmond Town lie in seventh place in the table after Liam Darville, Kalumn Holbrook, Ben Clarke and Sanyog Lingthep all found the net in their 6-1 hammering of Farringdon Detached.

*Michael O'Neill released Shayne Lavery and Ciaron Brown from his Northern Ireland squad to allow the pair to play for the under-21s in Romania.

Linfield striker Lavery and Cardiff defender Brown were in the 23-man senior squad which travelled to Prague on Saturday ahead of their friendly against the Czech Republic tonight.

But they have now flown to Romania to join up with Ian Baraclough's squad for their 2021 Euro qualifier in Voluntari.

Baraclough's men suffered a late defeat to Denmark in Aalborg on Thursday, leaving them with two points from their opening three games after draws with Malta and Finland.

Lavery and Brown both featured for the senior team in last month's friendly against Luxembourg, a game Brown started on his international debut.

They were in the frame to feature in Prague with O'Neill set to give use a number of fringe players.