Darwen end Thornton Cleveleys' unbeaten run as Steeton and Dawley Town shine

Darwen ended Thornton Cleveleys' two-month unbeaten league run with a 2-1 victory at the Fox Group Sports Arena. Thornton Cleveleys had gone into the game having lost once in 13 and having just reached the FA Vase second round proper for the first time, following a 5-4 penalty shootout win over Albion Sports.

Bruno De Almeida Severino scored in the 38th minute and Kalvin Morris headed a second in the 52nd. Josh Winder pulled one back with the simplest of tap-ins, his seventh goal in four First Division North games, but there was no equaliser. Manager Paul Gregory took responsibility, saying: "I feel us as management got it wrong in the first half with the system we were playing." He made four half-time substitutions and said the second half looked a different game. The win lifted Darwen to sixth, with 27 points from 14 games.

Photo: @JChappers94 for Steeton on X

Also in Division One North, Steeton won twice. A 5-1 home win over Uppermill on Tuesday featured a Kevin Gonzalez hat-trick and a tenth goal of the season for Josh Coe. On Saturday they won 2-0 at Cammell Laird 1907, inflicting a first home defeat of the season on the side who started the day second. Andy Briggs scored in the third and 38th minutes. Daisy Hill, who had lost four in a row, won 1-0 at Garstang.

At Ashton Athletic, a three-match winning run ended with a 5-2 defeat at Fulwood Amateur on Tuesday, two goals coming in the 90th and 93rd minutes after Luke Crompton had made it 3-2. Cole Exley returned after 14 months out injured. On Saturday they beat Holker Old Boys 3-0, Crompton scoring twice and Marcus Cusani once.

Photo: Dawley Town on X

In Division One South, Widnes Town lost 6-5 at home to Dawley Town, the visitors recovering from 5-3 down, and Ross Harley Jones scored a hat-trick. Market Drayton Town drew 3-3 at Wednesfield Community, with debutant Konnor Higgins scoring twice. Sandbach United went top on Sunday after Matty Birchall's 84th-minute goal sealed a 1-0 victory over Bilston Town. Wolverhampton Casuals won 1-0 at Telford Town.