Northern League: Lynch goes West to be Red Star's two-goal hero in romp

It's still early days, but Seaham Red Star, are riding high in the First Division.
Washington (red) take on Shildon (blue) in the FA Cup first qualifying round at Nissan Sports Complex on Saturday.Washington (red) take on Shildon (blue) in the FA Cup first qualifying round at Nissan Sports Complex on Saturday.
Washington (red) take on Shildon (blue) in the FA Cup first qualifying round at Nissan Sports Complex on Saturday.

Saturday’s impressive 4-0 demolition of West Auckland Town propelled them into fifth position, only a couple of points behind leaders Shildon.

Lee Hetherington set the tone for the afternoon with a clinical finish from 20 yards with only 13 minutes gone - his first goal for the club.

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Although the Star enjoyed a lot of possession, it was not until the second half that supremacy was turned into account.

Former Sunderland reserve-teamer Craig Lynch buried a shot from the edge of the box into the bottom of the net and within five minutes he completed a good move for his team’s third goal.

Robbie Bird was left with a simple tap-in to complete a comprehensive 4-0 victory late in added time.

Sunderland RCA are fourth, equal on points with the three teams above them.

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They made it four wins and two draws from seven games, defeating West Allotment Celtic 3-1 at Meadow Park.

Martin Swales’ men were quickly on their way to victory when Michael Charlton and Callum Hassan beat goalkeeper Chris Bannon in the opening 11 minutes.

Although Dale Pearson threw the Tynesiders a lifeline, RCA finished strongly and Liam McBryde’s 72nd-minute strike ended the visitors’ hopes.

After failing to take a point from their first five games, Chester-le-Street have claimed four from the last two, following a 1-1 draw with Newton Aycliffe at Chester Moor Park.

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It wasn’t until the 80th minute that the deadlock was broken by Wycliffe scoring predator John Campbell, but, within three minutes, the Cestrians were level as Dominic Laws completed an excellent move.

Newly-promoted Ryhope CW have now leaked 23 goals in seven games after suffering a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Ashington.

An only goal by ex-Ryhope forward Damien Stevens was all that separated the teams at the halfway stage, but, in the last quarter of the match, Steve Harmison’s side dominated.

Stevens doubled his team’s advantage and his goal was quickly followed by three from Kyle Downey, Ben Samson and Ben Harmison.

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Second-top North Shields were the biggest scorers of the day when they surprisingly inflicted an 8-0 defeat on hosts Guisborough Town.

The goals flowed from Lee Mason, with a hat-trick, Jordan Summerley (2), Curtis Coppen, Dan Wilson and Jack Devlin.

Jarrow Roofing hit back after conceding a couple of goals to Penrith’s Martyn Coleman and earned a 2-2 draw with second-half efforts by Paul Chow and Dan Kirkup.

South Shields are third after defeating Whitley Bay 4-2 at Mariners Park, watched by a crowd of 1,409.

Jon Shaw, Wayne Phillips, Carl Finnigan and an own goal saw them home after the Seahorses had been 2-1 ahead with a brace from Adam Shanks.