The Red Devils fell in the Wallsend derby last round, and things turned from bad to worse for the club as Jye MacKellar and Tallan Martin both scored early for the away side on Sunday afternoon.

Wallsend nicked one back just before half time through Sam Bradshaw’s penalty goal, but injuries in the first half to Ty Goldsmith, Matt Williams and Travas McCabe spelled doom and gloom for the home team.

Without any substitutions left on the bench, and with three key players heading for the medical tables, Wallsend could do like as the Redbacks’ doubled their lead again through a stellar free-kick from Patrick Wand.

A brace for Jake Millstead heaped on the hurt for the Devils, and a cherry on top for Thornton in their away round came from Trent Partridge.

On Saturday, Nathan Hall was the difference for Singleton in a 1-0 victory over South Cardiff, while Belmont-Swansea scored a glimmer of hope in their season with a 1-0 win over Cessnock – their first against the Hornets in four years.

Later on Sunday, Kahibah and New Lambton shared the spoils at Kahibah Oval in a 1-all draw, and Cooks Hill again retained the top spot with a 3-0 win over West Wallsend. Jack Wilkinson, Jarryd Johnson and Tom Liolio were all individual scorers for the defending premiers.

Toronto Awaba had the bye round.

TABLE: Cooks Hill (18), Singleton (16), Thornton 15), West Wallsend (13), Wallsend (12), South Cardiff (11), Cessnock (11), Belmont Swansea (9), Kahibah (8), New Lambton (5), Toronto Awaba (5)