Haldane takes the helm at Whickham

Whickham have confirmed the appointment of Lee Haldane as their new manager.

The former Easington Colliery boss was named as successor to Tony Fawcett yesterday after he accepted an offer to take over at Consett earlier this month.

Haldane will be assisted by Paul Wardle and Barrie Smith and will officially take charge for the first time when the Lang Jacks visit Guisborough Town next weekend.

Whickham chairman Ben Riley said: “Lee and his team have been incredibly impressive and showed a great desire and passion to secure the job... They are a great fit for what we are trying to build here and we look forward to working with them.”

Ashington moved to within seven points of Division One leaders Bishop Auckland with a 3-2 home win against West Allotment Celtic. The visitors looked to have battled back to earn a point as second-half strikes from Liam Beeston and Scott McCarthy cancelled out goals from Colliers duo Ben Harmison and Liam Smith. But Harmison fired home a 96th minute penalty to give the Colliers a boost in their bid for promotion.

Elsewhere, a Jordan Blinco brace and a goal apiece from Corey Nicholson, Liam Potter and James Ellis helped West Auckland Town ease to a 5-1 home win against injury-hit Sunderland RCA.

And Newton Aycliffe earned a 2-1 home win against managerless Redcar Athletic thanks to a 94th minute strike from Liam Jarvie.

Sunderland West End claimed a point in the only Division Two game to escape the wet conditions as Mason Tarrant’s last-minute goal cancelled out Callum Hickman’s opener in a 1-1 draw with leaders Boro Rangers.