This title winning season eventually came to an end with a midweek game against Northbank Carlisle with a match played in the unfamiliar surroundings of Tyne Green Country Park. The result was disappointing but management and coaches could not be disappointed with the effort and brand of football the team played. The final game of the season had to be played at Tyne Green due to the pitch maintenance being planned at the Wentworth for early May which would not have caused a problem but for the late spring downpours which caused this game to be postponed two weeks earlier. For a game which had nothing on it both sides put everything they had into the match and it was fast and furious from the start.

Northbank employed there tactic which undone Hexham earlier in the season with the long punt out wide and the lightning Mark Worral running in behind the defence. Not pretty to watch but effective as Hexham found out to their cost after only twelve minutes, the predicted long ball was almost cut out by the head of Graeme Turner but when it cleared him Worral had a clear run on goal to slip the ball underneath the advancing Robinson.

With promotion and the title safely in the hands of Hexham there was still two league games left to complete. The first being a midweek trip to Seaton Burn where the Northern Alliance took the opportunity to present the team the championship trophy and the squad their medals. The players were delighted to receive their awards from Alliance Chairman Peter Riley and Secretary Derek Booth before the game so it was probably understandable that their minds were not on the task in hand when the match kicked off minutes later.

The early stages were all Seaton Burn with the champion's struggling to get into the game, Jordan Milne was causing problems with his pace down the left wing and central striker Reece Allman just waiting for a chance to drop at his feet. After ten minutes a golden opportunity for Steven O'Neil arose but thankfully he squandered this chance with the goal at his mercy. The early stages defiantly won by Seaton Burn but with no goals to show for the home sides superiority Hexham began to get in to the game, a Thomas North shot and a self made chance by Ali Stobbs where he screwed his effort wide after doing all the hard work gave the visitors confidence and they were back on song. The balance of power had shifted into Hexham's favour but at the break the teams could not be separated.

With promotion already assured the job now was to secure the title, this task was made all the easier by rivals Northbank losing points midweek at Bedlington and Willington Quay Saints. Hexham's kit was a combination of two borrowed sets from local Sunday league sides Wheatsheaf and the Phoenix as both first and change strip clashed with the home side's colours but that did not matter as there was a job to be done. History was against Hexham as in nine previous meetings they had only managed three draws against the senior team from the Boys Club. But this season Hexham have re written their history and on nine minutes nerves were eased when skipper Gavin Cox produced a looping header from a deep cross which he directed back across the goal and into the corner of the net.

A superb start and if all the chances had been taken Hexham could have been out of site with only twenty minutes gone, a crashing header from Graeme Turner rattled of the crossbar bounced down on the line and hooked clear, Liam Heenan shaved the post with a drive and Jamie Peel forced a good save from Wallsend keeper Fraiser Nairn

In their first season in 11 a side football the Hexham u11 greens have had a successful season and this is confirmed with an impressive thitd place in the NEYD L table. This was secured with a 3-0 victory at home v Cullercoats goals coming from Jack Feely, Seth Kippax-Jones and Joe Anderson

With the recent run of bad weather the Hexham u13's moved their fixture to the 3G surface at Prudhoe. The surface must have suited them as they came away comprehensive winners.This now means they only need one point midweek against North Shields to be promoted to the top division of the Pinpoint league next season. Goal scorers for Hexham were Ryan Gardner (4), two for Sam Holland and one each for Dominic Wellar, Joe Hughes & Thomas Jepsom

The 4th Annual Haltwhistle Challenge starts Saturday, 19th May in Haltwhistle's Market Square. Walkers start at 8.00a.m. and runners set off later at 10.00a.m.

The Haltwhistle Challenge is a cross country marathon over some of the most beautiful and wild countryside in England.

The route uses public rights of way with traditional signposts and waymarkers. At key points there will be route marshals and extra route signs in places. Basic navigational skills are necessary. At registration an outline route map with grid references will be provided and a control card that must be punched at compulsory control points. Participants will need to carry their own copy of Ordnance Survey (1: 25000 Explorer map OL43) and a compass.

A depleted Lang Jacks welcomed Hexham to Axwell Park for this Northern Alliance Division Two fixture but even if they had been at full strength they would have struggled with the blistering start Hexham made to the game. Within four minutes Hexham were two goals in front, first leading scorer Liam Heenan converted a pin point cross from Scott Coates and then goal scorer turned provider when Heenan set up Graham Tiffin to blast past home goalkeeper Mark Innes. This was a tremendous start and settled any promotion nerves Hexham may have had but it could have been a little different if Kevin Hay and Graham King not squandered glorious chances to score when the score was still two-nil. On the quarter hour mark Ali Stobbs got his first of the day, from a Thomas North through ball he was able to run at the defenders and cut inside to score Hexham's third to totally knock the stuffing out of the Whickham side

With the recent bad weather this football season has been extended by another couple games as two fell foul of the unseasonal rainfall in the past seven days. So it was a relief for Hexham to get their penultimate home game of the season underway against Bedlington Terriers Res on Wednesday evening. This midweek fixture was put back till seven pm to enable the visitors some extra time to travel from south east Northumberland and so with the floodlights on for the second half it helped to create an atmosphere.

The first game at Welfare Park was a cracking match with Hexham winning by an odd goal in five and to date with only one game left for the Terriers is the only time a visiting team has taken maximum points. The game kicked off at a frantic pace and anyone watching must have thought this will not be kept up for the ninety but to both teams credit they did and it produced an excellent match to watch for the neutral. But for Hexham is was a very nervy encounter although they had the better of the game chances wise Bedlington had a lot of possession but they failed to use it wisely.

The 19th Haltwhistle Walking Festival got underway last weekend, despite the weather forecast. 31 walkers completed the 13 mile Crags and Loughs walk and 21 went on the 7mile Wonders South of Haltwhistle. The rain held off all day and it was sunny and bright. Conditions underfoot were very wet, to be expected after the recent heavy rains.

On Sunday 21 walkers tackled Crags and Loughs, Day 2, another 13 mile walk. The north easterly wind was strong and bitterly cold, so the walkers had to keep up a brisk pace throughout the walk to keep warm. They enjoyed views of 4 loughs (Crag, Broomlee, Halleypike and Greenlee) and Folly Lake and walked on Dove, Kings, Queens and Crow Crags. Rain and a little hail arrived in the early afternoon and helped the walkers to keep up the pace, completing the whole walk in 6 hours.

It's getting to the crunch time in the promotion stakes and very point is vital but due to holidays and injuries Hexham had a few non runners in the race for elevation to the next tier against pre season favourites Swalwell. But the race for the top has passed by Swalwell and they have slipped down the field to languish next to bottom of the table. To their credit they attacked the home team who early on were trying to adapt to the formation and personal changes that was forced upon them.

On eight minutes Ali Stobbs had the first effort on goal and it was a thumping drive that keeper Scott Simpson did well to block. That was enough to kick start the match and both sides decided that the best form of defence was attack, from here on in Hexham had the better of the encounter but not without a couple scares along the way. After twenty one minutes Liam Heenan had the ball in the visitors net when he headed home a rebound, but he was adjudged to be in an offside position so the deadlock continued. The next fifteen minutes to the interval were an incredible combination of missed chances good saves and the woodwork took a battering. Swalwell almost took the lead when a Shaun Rogan drive looked to heading into the corner of the goal before hitting the upright spinning along and off the line before being cleared.

Hexham u11 Whites had a weekend off with their fixture planed for midweek against top of the table Ponteland Puma's it was the u11's greens opportunity to take all the limelight. Despite having to reverse the fixture they did not disappoint with a solid win and three points at Tynemouth Yellows. A fantastic day for Seth Kippax-Jones as he contributed with four goals and just to make sure Alex Wood, Joe Anderson and William Turnbull all hit the back of the net

No league game for Hexham u12's instead a trip to the Easter football festival at Craig Tara Holiday Park north of the border in Ayr. The squad was split into two teams which played in the mini soccer format of 7 aside. Eighteen teams from as far away as the Stranocum, Grangemouth and Fife along with sides from Northern Ireland were split into two divisions. The Hexham sides played well and between the two teams they managed to win seven and draw two of their sixteen games. Players and especially parents and coaches all behaved well and had a great weekend