Stockton Town target three wins for title as weather hits
ahead of yourself, but teams around us have to play each other and it’s obviously looking good. It could be another three wins for us to win the title but we will just take each game as it comes.”
Guisborough Town and Newcastle Benfield shared the points in the only other Division One fixture to escape postponement on Saturday.
Peter Glen-Ravenhill put Benfield ahead with 15 minutes on the clock at the KGV Stadium as he sent a powerful header beyond Town keeper Luke Nixon.
But the spoils were shared as Mark Robinson got the hosts back on levelterms with a clinically taken penalty eight minutes before half-time.
Only two Division Two fixtures took place on Saturday – but they both had an impact on the four promotion places.
Redcar Athletic strengthened their hopes of securing a second promotion in three seasons as they battled to a 3-1 home win against Jarrow FC.
Despite Jarrow being on top for the majority of the first half, it was the hosts that edged in front thanks to a Jordan Rivis goal just seconds before the interval.
Adam Preston doubled their lead 20 minutes into the second half as the powerful striker rounded off a quick counter-attack with a cool finish.
Lee Hetherington gave Jarrow some hope of securing a point when he halved the deficit two minutes from time – but they were hit by another quick break by their hosts as Michael Woodhouse secured the points for his side in injury-time.
Jarrow manager Dave Bell insisted that his side will keep believing they can challenge for promotion into Division One – despite being left five places and six points shy of the fourth and final promotion place.
He said: “We are not too disappointed as our play was good and Redcar just took their chances.
“I certainly don’t think we deserved the defeat. There are still a lot of points to play for and we still believe we can get in amongst the leading group. Until the point where it is not possible, we will keep believing.”
Ryton and Crawcrook Albion remain in fourth place despite a late brace from Matty Moffat helping Tow
Law Town to a 2-0 win at Kingsley Park.
*FC Hartlepool assistant manager Mark Loynes believes that his side have made “a big statement” by taking three points from Wearside League leaders Horden CW.
Both sides were in good form ahead of their muchanticipated clash at Grayfields but it was the hosts that came out on top with a narrow win.
As the wind and rain made play near impossible, Hartlepool edged themselves in front with just over quarter of an hour remaining. Luke Naylor was the man to get the decisive goal as he made the most of a fine run and cross from Kieran Voss with a clinical header that inflicted only a fourth league defeat of the season on Horden.
The win also means that Hartlepool strengthened their grip on a top three place and stretched their unbeaten run to seven league games.
Loynes hailed the Hartlepool players for their impressive display in difficult conditions and challenged them to continue their unbeaten run into their last seven games of the season.
He said: “It was another very good performance from the boys.
“That’s 19 points from a possible 21 since the new year and that’s a very good return after a bit of a sticky patch in mid-season.
“We are a side that really looks at it at the moment.
“We’ve made a big statement with that win and with our current form we must look to finish the season strongly.
“There are seven games remaining and the aim has got to be seven wins as we look to build for next season.
“Confidence is high, and we are already looking forward to the trip to Boldon next Saturday.”