Call for big Bish finish

CHRIS Hardy has challenged Division One champions Bishop Auckland to bring a historic end to a stunning season this weekend.

The Two-blues officially sealed promotion into the Northern Premier League with a 7-1 hammering of Newcastle Benfield earlier this week and got their hands on the champions trophy at Redcar Athletic on Thursday night.

A memorable season will come to a close at Tow Law Town tomorrow – and manager Hardy has insisted his side still have a lot to play for at Ironworks Road.

He said: “You can count the blips on one hand and we are not only winning games of football, we are winning games emphatically.

“That has got us on 156 goals for the season, with lots of clean sheets to boot as well. It’s really impressive in terms of stats ... of performance levels, the brand of football and the ability to come away from Heritage Park, where we know we have nice facilities and a pitch that plays true and come to other ground, play another type of football and adapt.

“Our stats are impressive and that’s why we are picking the trophy up. We want them to recover, I want to hit 100 points and hit as many goals possible to hit the 100-plus on the goal difference to build a bit of history.”

In Division One tonight, Whickham aim to bounce back from their Durham Challenge Cup Final defeat against West Auckland Town with a win at North Shields. Tomorrow, Heaton Stannington will look to claim a home tie in the Division One semi-finals with a win at Crook Town and Jay Bates brings down the curtain on his reign at West Allotment Celtic with a home game against Newcastle Benfield.

There is a local derby as Seaham Red Star visit Sunderland RCA and Northallerton Town travel to Cumbria to take on Carlisle City.

There are two Division Two fixtures tonight as already crowned champions Blyth Town face Bedlington Terriers at Morpeth Town’s Craik Park and play-off contenders Easington Colliery take on Washington at Ford Hub.

Tomorrow, there is a South Tyneside derby at Ford Hub as Jarrow entertain Boldon CA and Newcastle Blue Star round off preparations for their play-off semi-final against Horden CW when they visit Thornaby.

Chester-le-street United welcome Billingham Synthonia to Riverside Complex and Prudhoe YC are the visitors to Esh Winning.