CRAWCROOK Fox and Hounds took a giant step to capturing the Division Two title by defeating one of their main rivals.

A single goal from Alex Redfern secured the slender victory over promotion candidates Haltwhistle Railway , with Scott Fothergill named man of the match. Stu Sproul earned Haltwhistle’s equivalent.

The result, however, was a very contentious one with Haltwhistle claiming they had two legitimate goals ruled offside by a Crawcrook official, while the visitors believed they had a stonewall penalty for handball turned away.

In the only other game to beat the weather, Division One side Barrasford put six past Division Two’s Wylam Black Bull in the Mick Simmons Trophy.

Both Marc Nixon and Owen Murtough scored two, and Gareth Rhodes and Dan Stokoe also netted, while Ben King was man of the match.