FIRST LOSS IN LEAGUE
Silksworth CW coach Michael Curtis lauded his side after they beat titlechasing Hebburn Town Reserves and became the first side to take three points from the Hornets this season.
First-half goals from Adam Storey and Harry Munday put Silksworth in complete control of the game at half time.
But the Hornets got themselves back into it with a stunning long-range effort from Josh Houghton midway through the second half.
However, a resolute defensive display helped Silksworth battle their way to three points and secure their second consecutive win against their hosts.
Curtis told The Echo: “We played really well again, especially in the first half.
“We scored two very, very good goals to put ourselves in a great position, but we came under some heavy pressure in the second half.
“We conceded a poor goal and we just edged the win.
“We are happy with the resilience shown by the lads yet again against a team that were unbeaten in the league ahead of the game.”
There was controversy at Metcalfe Park as the game between league leaders Wolviston and Annfield Plain was abandoned.
The Teesside outfit were 3-2 ahead of the visitors, who had been reduced to eight men after Dan Johnson, Chris Killeen and Carlos Malpass had all been handed controversial red cards.
Two Annfield players then succumbed to late injuries, and with all three substitutes already used, the referee was forced to abandon the game with 12 minutes left on the clock.
Horden CW were the big winners on Saturday as they demolished bottom-of-thetable Coxhoe Athletic 7-0 - John Bowes, David Harrison, Paul Moss, Hayden Pace, Callum Hodgson, Robbie Renwick and David Paul on target to leave assistant manager Lee Bogan “over the moon”.
He said: “It was a muchneeded win and we were in control from the off.
“We are over the moon with the reaction from the lads after a difficult spell. A few lads have come in and done really well.
“We looked a threat throughout the game and kept a clean sheet, which is a boost. It stands us in good stead for some big games in March.”
Harton and Westoe CW bounced back from last weekend’s derby defeat against Hebburn Town Reserves with a 3-2 home win against Darlington Town courtesy of Chris Foster, Adam Bell and Paul Burrell.
Hartlepool FC led Windscale thanks to an own-goal and an Ash Clarke strike, but were pegged back and beaten by a second-half brace from Ben Graham and a goal from Kevin Holliday.
Liam Mulvain scored twice in Boldon CA’s 2-0 home win against Gateshead Leam Rangers, and Lewis Rees grabbed a brace as Darlington RA recorded a hard-earned 5-3 win at West Auckland Tunns, Jordan Hanratty, David Parker and Mark Edze also scoring.
And an Andrew Brown goal saw Sunderland West End beat Richmond Town 1-0 in the TWR Shipowners Charity Cup.