Saturday's First Division South action review

Evo-Stik Northern Premier League First Division South leaders Coalville Town had a Saturday off when their game at Carlton Town was postponed, writes Pitchero's Steve Whitney.

That gave the chasing pack a chance to reduce the massive gap at the top, Stamford AFC returning to second place with new boss Wayne Hatswell watching them beat play-off chasing Gresley FC 3-1 at The Moat.

A crowd of 306 saw the home side get off to a great start when Richard Hanslow put them in front after less than five minutes had gone on the clock.But by half-time the Daniels were leading through Jake Gibson after 36 minutes and Ricky Miller on 43. Top scorer Miller confirmed victory when he made it 3-1 with a couple of minutes remaining.

Stamford leap-frogged Sutton Coldfield Ton into second after the Royals were held to an amazing 4-4 draw on the 3G at Coles Lane. Little of what was to come looked likely as Luke Chapman gave the home side a ninth minute lead. But the Scholars went into a 2-1 lead with goals from Mark Branch after 17 minutes and Simon Brown 10 minutes later.

Kristian Ramsey-Dickson equalised three minutes after that, only for Brown to make it 3-2 to Chasetown seven minutes later. And when Branch added the visitors' fourth on 68 minutes, it looked all over – that was until the referee indicated six minutes of stoppage time. That saw Ramsey-Dickson reduced the deficit to one and then much-travelled striker Mark Danks rescued a point for Sutton Coldfield.

Fourth-placed King's Lynn Town were amazingly ordered to play a county cup tie, and Belper Town took advantage of Gresley's defeat to move into the top five after a 3-1 win at fellow play-off contenders Rainworth Miners Welfare.

The recently returned Glyn Cotton gave the Nailers a 32nd minute lead that Callum Lloyd cancelled out five minutes after half-time. And on a day of late goals, Jon Froggatt from the penalty spot and an Ashley Kitchen own goal won it for Belper in the final three minutes.

Any confidence Romulus gained from their New Year's Day performance against landlords Sutton Coldfield quickly disappeared as they were soundly beaten at The Grove by Halesowen Town. Poor defending from set pieces saw Naveed Arshad on 26 minutes and Ben Haseley on the stroke of half-time take advantage to give the hosts a 2-0 lead at half-time.

The second half was all Halesowen and prolific scorer Haseley went on to complete his hat-trick in the 57th and 77th minutes. Arshad rounded off the scoring with the fifth in time added on to complete a miserable day for the visitors.

Paul Grimes also scored a hat-trick as Brigg Town recorded an emphatic 6-1 away win at struggling Hucknall Town. Brigg's other scorers were Liam Davis, Ryan Paczkowski and Danny Buttle, leaving the Zebras just four points outside the play-off positions after a run of just one defeat in the last eight games.

Leek Town recorded their first home clean sheet in the league this season as they beat Market Drayton Town 3-0 at Harrison Park. Tim Grice bagged a brace in the 45th and 60th minutes, with Peter Wright adding the other six minutes later.

Nearby, Newcastle Town lost the derby at the Lyme Valley Stadium against Kidsgrove Athletic 4-0. Andy Kinsey and Liam Shotton were on target in the opening 45 minutes, with Kinsey again and John Johnston in the second period.

Northwich Victoria still have hopes of mounting a play-off challenge and won 3-1 at Loughborough Dynamo to help that cause. They trailed to an Alvin Jarvis effort right on half-time, but Josh Amis' penalty pulled the Vics back on terms eight minutes after the break and then Joe Bunney on 56 minutes and Scott Harries in injury-time sealed victory.

The other game between third-bottom Mickleover Sports and Sheffield FC ended in a 3-3 draw. The visitors will be the more disappointed, however, as, after trailing to Rob Ritchie-Smith's 9th minute opener, Vill Powell, Matt Roney and Anton Foster put Club 3-1 up before half-time. But new signing Gareth Langford on the hour-mark and then Nick Woods in time added on, salvaged a point for Sports.