Burnside
at the Max as Stoker kicks New Year off in style
Burnside WMC enjoyed their first action of 2016,
enhancing their Third Division promotion ambitions with a 5-2 home success
against Lumley Snooker Club.
The
sides produced a well-fought contest, even though the pitch cut up from the
kick-off.
Burnside
did not get going until Craig Ellison broke the deadlock with a precise finish
from outside the box. Max Stoker quickly added a second goal on 25 minutes, and
Burnside’s growing confidence saw Kriss Jobling make it 3-0 with a tidy little
finish going into half-time.
Impressive
goalkeeping from Sean Robinson kept Lumley at bay at the start of the second
half, and led to a sucker punch fourth goal from Stoker.
Lumley
capitalised on a few changes to pull a goal back with a neat header, and they
added a second, after slack marking at the back to make it 4-2 at the break.
Stoker,
who blazed a penalty over the bar at 4-1, helped Burnside secure all three
points, though, as they continued to press and added a fifth goal when
Ellison’s brilliant 25-yard free-kick, following a foul on Paul Gardner, flew
into the top corner of the net.
Unbeaten
Chester Garden Farm reached double figures to kick off 2016 in their derby showdown
with Chester-le-Street AFC.
Matthew
Goodyear was the aptly named hero, hitting a hat-trick to inspire a 12-1 rout,
with Adam Goodyear, who also got on the mark, named man of the match.
Scott
Howe, Tom Wray and Daniel Johnson all notched doubles, while Jake Chisholm and
Liam Walsh completed the scoring.
Hetton
New Inn played out a 2-2 draw away to Quarrington Hill WMC, with Jordan Knox’s
well-taken double securing a two-goal lead before the hosts hit back, levelling
with a 25-yard strike.
Michael
Smith stood out for New Inn.
Washington
Jays turned on the style to open the new year in fine fashion, handing out a
10-2 drubbing to hosts Sedgefield Social Club to leapfrog their hosts into
third place, though the tie was tight at 4-2 until the visitors ran riot.
Adam
Hill’s hat-trick and a double from star man Dan Robson led the way, with
Anthony Fletcher, Reece Wanless, Karl Graham, Michael Alcock and Andrew Shotton
also on target
There
is a new top two in Division One, with Whitehills climbing into pole position
and Ouston Cherry Tree also rising above Durham County Seniors to take second
place.
Whitehills
grabbed the new year derby honours against bottom club Chester Park Inn, but
only just.
On
a boggy pitch, Whitehills took the lead thanks to Chris Savage’s strike.
Chances
proved hard to come by for both teams after that, though, with the best
opportunities coming from set pieces.
Park
Inn came close to a late equaliser when they hit the bar with a 20-yard
free-kick.
Stephen
Fisher was the pick of Whitehills’ side.
Ouston
Cherry Tree edged home 2-1 at impressive New Brancepeth WMC.
After
an even start to the game. Ouston made the breakthrough with a Michael Ross
penalty. Brancepeth pushed for the equaliser in the remainder of the first half
without success, and they turned around the better team, creating a series of
chances and finally levelling when debutant Ryan Burton struck.
New
Brancepeth had four great chances to take the lead, but they missed out each
time and paid the price as, with three minutes left, Ouston got lucky to snatch
victory. Substitute Josh Scott’s overhit cross almost crept in at the back
post, instead bouncing back off the post onto Jon Morrison’s head from a yard
out, and he could not miss.
Anthony
Bussey’s outstanding performance was rewarded with the man of the match award.
Ferryhill
Celtic grabbed an early goal and never let up as they cruised to a 5-0 home win
against Pelton Crown to make it nine wins out of nine and see them three points
clear in Division Two.
John
Makepeace pounced for the opening strike and Celtic kept up the dominance to
lead 3-0 by the break, thanks to efforts from Johnny Agar and Jay Smith.
The
second half was much closer, but Celtic still struck twice more, with Shane
Todd and Luke Thompson on target. Jason White starred for Ferryhill.
Bishop
Middleham shrugged off the cobwebs of their long lay-off with a 4-1 success at
Kelloe WMC – but it was a tight clash until the final 10 minutes.
The
visitors struggled to get their game together early on, but they finally made
the breakthrough in the derby showdown, when Jonathan Hornsby crossed for
Damian Shanahan to score five minutes before the break.
Two
minutes later, Steven Ferguson made it 2-0, firing in from 20 yards.
Battling
bottom club Kelloe pulled one back from a corner in the second half, with
Connor Ratton on target.
But
Middleham put the game to bed with 15 minutes left, when Moody played a through
ball for debutant Ellis Short to score at the second attempt.
Two
minutes from time, Ferguson grabbed his second goal of the game, on the
counter-attack, with Hornsby picking him out among three players waiting in the
middle to score.
Steven
Brooke starred for Kelloe, with Alex Mitton best for Bishop.
Premier
outfit Sedgefield St Edmund’s had just enough in their locker to pip battling
Third Division outfit Durham County 3-2 in the Stonebridge Inn League Cup,
reaching the semi-finals.
Alex
Hird and Jack Hodgkiss notched for County, who produced an excellent
performance which just fell short of a real cup upset.
Steve
Flockett and Lewis Brown had Saints two up, beforte the latter was sent off for
retaliation just before the break. Flockett added a vital third goal in the
second half.
