Hebburn Town's pitch was deemed playable for the visit of Washington, who made the short journey without the services of a recognised goalkeeper to call upon.

But they still went home with a point after a goal by Hebburn's nemesis Paul Terrell, and an inspired goalkeeping performance by former Town striker Gary McCartney.

McCartney, who made a habit of plundering goals for Tony Robinson's side over the years, was allowed to leave in the summer, along with fellow strike partner Tony Hanson, as Robinson looked to remould his side.

And he came back to haunt his former side, pulling off eight top-drawer saves as emergency keeper to deny Hebburn all three points.

The game started brightly for Hebburn, as they took the lead inside the first quarter of an hour.

Michael Armstrong raced to the byline before cutting the ball back for Karl McMann, who slotted home from eight yards out.

McCartney made the first of his stops on 22 minutes to deny Paul Trosh from doubling the advantage, and then was in the right place when McMann's shot blasted straight into his midrift before the interval.

He then pulled off three superb stops inside a 12-minute period after the break, and Hebburn were made to pay for their misses when former South Shields striker Paul Terrell – who has a habit of scoring against Town – bent a 30-yard shot past Gary Frater to equalise for Washington.

McCartney then twice denied Finbar Lynch as Hebburn pushed for a winner, while at the other end Terrell almost grabbed his second, but Frater rescued the home side.

And in the very last minute, McMann thought he had won the game for Hebburn, only for McCartney to have the final say with a point-blank stop to earn his side a point.

Elsewhere in Division Two of the Northern League, Jarrow Roofing's trip to Sunderland RCA was postponed, while South Shields couldn't get their game at home to Bedlington Terriers on, as the entire First Division fixture list bit the dust.

The only other game involving the borough's sides to go ahead was Wearside League outfit Jarrow's Monkwearmouth Cup trip to take on Windscale.

And Dave Bell's side made the long journey back from Cumbria delighted to have secured a semi-final spot thanks to a 2-0 victory.

Jarrow made a dream start, opening the scoring after just 17 seconds through Chris Lunn.

Windscale kicked off, but immediately gave the ball away, and after Chris McDonald fed Craig Armstrong, Lunn applied the finish to put his side ahead.

It was 2-0 on 14 minutes when Andy Barclay broke clean through, and although his effort was saved by home keeper James Dolan, McDonald was on hand to convert the rebound.

Jarrow were rampant in the first period in particular, and only Dolan's heroics kept them from increasing their lead.

It was a similar story after the interval as Jarrow eased to the victory, with keeper Gary Rogers having little to do at the opposite end.

Boss Bell said: "Our first-half performance was the best we've played this season.

"We were outstanding, and how we didn't go in four or five up at half-time is a mystery.

"After the break, their keeper made another four saves, while Gary Rogers didn't have anything to do all game."

The games involving Boldon CA, Hebburn Reyrolle and Shields United were all victims of the heavy overnight frost.