Tired legs and injuries take their toll

Hexham conceded two own goals in the first half, the first when they ignored the first rule of the game "play to the whistle".

The ball appeared to go over the by line but with the linesman's view restricted no flag or whistle came and the game carried on.

In the panic that ensued once this was realised, skipper Gavin Cox tried to clear the ball but unfortunately it ended up in the back of the net.

Not long after that the disadvantage was doubled when trying to defend a corner under pressure Paul Robinson could only help the ball over the line. This could have been much worse but for an excellent double save from keeper Sean Heads just before the break.

Things did improve after the interval with an excellent strike from Paul McLean and for a time Hexham looked like a point was a possibility but then injury struck and Duncan Scott had to be withdrawn and a reshuffle was required.

But sloppy defending brought the curtain down on the game as a contest when Neil Gibson scored the third goal for Forest Hall.

There was still time for a late penalty for Hexham to bring the scores closer. Top scorer Iain Strachan dispatched the penalty in off the post after the home defender palmed a goal bound shot over the bar.

Red card and a fine for him to contemplate as he made his trip to the dressing room but this offence was far too late for Hexham and the points were lost.

Saturday brought new hope with the visit of Whitley Bay Town to Hexham and again the weather had a part to play.

The lack of rain over the previous weeks had made the playing surface rock hard, if that pitch had been inspected during the winter months the game would have been doubt.

The surface plays havoc with joints and burns/blisters are always a concern.

But despite the fact Hexham had taken three points from the seasider's only three weeks earlier the team performance hardly changed from the midweek game three days ago.

To be fair the injuries/tiredness are taking effect with four regulars either carrying injuries or unavailable and with the holiday season just starting team selection is a problem.

Early in the game Hexham had the upper hand, Tom Phillips will be disappointed he could not make a better connection on a tremendous cross in the first few moments and Scott Robson did well to create a chance for himself and with the goal keeper off his line his lob just cleared the crossbar.

This early pressure did not convert into goals and Whitley Bay played themselves back into the encounter.

A break down the left wing from Micky Welford opened the goal scoring on the half hour mark and Ben Harding scored from a free kick just before the break.

Ben plays as a target man for Whitley Bay using his height and physique to tremendous advantage. All the set pieces were delivered in his direction and despite Hexham keeping him under wraps in the last fixture, today was a different story.

After the break Tom Phillips made up for his first half miss by heading home from a corner after only two minutes to give Hexham a hope. Despite this lifeline Hexham never got back into the match and as frustrations rose with no sign of a breakthough Whitley Bay just controlled the afternoon and scored two more goals to give the score line a slightly flattering aspect.

Stephen Brown who has been missing returned from his knee injury but not for long as he suffered a reoccurrence and this looks like his season has finished a month early.

Another week of double games for Hexham as two away trips are on fixture list, Wednesday night North Shields is the venue and on Saturday Newcastle BT are providing the opposition.

There is still enough points to play for to make this Hexham's most successful season since returning to the Alliance three years ago, but for this to happen they will need a break from the run of injuries and take some of the chances that are still coming their way