Peterlee Sunday League: Fired-up George shrug off league woes to stun Easington Lane in cup quarter-final shock

Easington Lane WMC, flying in the First Division and in with a great chance of promotion, saw their hopes of a third cup final date dashed by Seaham The George.
Eyes on the ball as Wearmouth CW (red) take on Over-40s rivals Consett. Picture by Tim RichardsonEyes on the ball as Wearmouth CW (red) take on Over-40s rivals Consett. Picture by Tim Richardson
Eyes on the ball as Wearmouth CW (red) take on Over-40s rivals Consett. Picture by Tim Richardson

Darren Ruddock and Paul Henderson were the marksmen as George, already relegated from the top flight and without a league win, ended Lane’s long unbeaten run with a committed team performance in their John & Pat McManus Memorial Cup quarter-final.

Adam Wilson starred for George, with Calum Jefferson best for Lane, who are through to the Cyril Dunn Cup final, and meet Wingate Plough at Seaham on March 31. Lane also have the First Division Cup final to look forward to.

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George must visit Peterlee Helford in their cup semi, with the winners up against Dawdon Welfare Park.

Paul Atkinson, Robbie Bird and substitute Dan Mottram all notched as Premier front-runners Dawdon reached the final thanks to a comfortable 3-0 victory away to First Division Easington Welfare. Nathan Burrell was outstanding for the Green Drive side.

Peterlee Hearts shattered Horden Cricket Club’s dream of a double in a dramatic rematch in their Second Division Cup semi-final.

Having won their appeal and been re-instated back into the cup, title favourites Horden lost a mammoth penalty shoot-out 10-9 after a memorable 3-3 draw.

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Christian Cole, Chris Robinson and Carl Winstanley were all on target for Hearts, while Gething, Shah and Watson responded.

New Seaham Westlea rocked Acre Rigg Social Club’s promotion ambitions in Division Two with a hard-earned 2-1 home success.

Brennan Yuill bagged a match-winning double for Westlea, whose star performer was Iain Dunn. Star man Graham Hornsby netted in vain for Rigg, who remain in third place, ahead of Peterlee Hearts by a point, with both teams having three matches to play.

Haswell Oddfellows Arms ended their season on a low note, succumbing to a 4-3 defeat at home to bottom club Sherburn United.

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A point or better would, temporarily at least, have lifted them into third place, but they finish their 18-game campaign with eight wins and eight defeats.

Hall, French and Dolan struck for Haswell, but braces from star man Luiz Alves and James Raine guided Sherburn to only their third league victory, but was not enough to take them off the foot of the table.

A four-timer from Michael Bayles, plus efforts from Craig Deighton and Sean Pratt, saw Peterlee Central Club enjoy a 6-2 win against Hetton Fox and Hounds, who replied with strikes from Thirkell and Patterson.

The win kept them two points above Sherburn.

Wingate Grange clambered off the bottom of the First Division table after securing only their second win in 16 league matches.

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Michael Lee led the way with a well-taken brace, supported by goals from Martin Basley, Jonathan Lee and sub Adam Lee, as Grange finished 5-3 winners in an entertaining duel with South Hetton Cricket Club.

Matthew Johnson (2) and substitute Andrew Gelson notched for third-bottom South Hetton, who are 10 points clear of their victors. Nathan Adamson was the visitors’ man of the match.

In the only other match, Murton New Hesledon slipped to the bottom of the table, a point behind Wingate Grange, after going down 2-0 in their derby clash away to Seaham Marlborough.

Adam Hepple and Anthony Cook were on target for Marlborough, with Tom Johnson their star man.

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Gavin Hoggarth stood out for New Hesledon, who have four games to play and could conceivably catch third-bottom South Hetton if they won all four.

Two of the top four Premier Division clubs battled it out in a hard-fought 2-2 draw when Peterlee Helford United took on Horden CW Supporters Club.

Karl Garside and Philip Hickman netted for Helford, but Jack Pounder was on target twice to give second-top Supporters Club their share of the spoils.

Michael Robson was man of the match for Horden, with Keith Bailey the pick of the home side.

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Horden closed the gap to leaders Dawdon Welfare Park to five points, but have now played a game more.

Murton Colliery followed up their impressive draw against Dawdon by outgunning Peterlee Catholic Club 5-2 to move up to fifth place.

Sub Liam Appleby (2), Martyn Blenkinsopp, star man Andrew Upperton and David Gordon did the damage, with David Paul and Joshua Ridley firing Catholic’s consolations. Jake Slater shone for Peterlee.