James fires Hexham to cup victory in the sun

They won the West Division Cup tournament, a round robin competition which also involved Prudhoe U18, and Corbridge U17.

Hexham lifted the cup after finishing top of the mini-league table, with a total of four points.

They followed their opening game, a 3-3 draw against Prudhoe, with a thoroughly entertaining 6-3 win over Corbridge.

The sun beamed down on Hexham’s Sele pitch for the final match, which was played in excellent weather conditions for the time of year.

In a very highly charged first half, both teams weren’t giving anything away as the tackles flew in.

Hexham cruised to 3-0 lead, but to their credit, Corbridge didn’t let their heads go down and clawed the score back to 3-2 before half time.

Early in the second period, Hexham extended their lead to 4-2, but it wasn’t all one-sided, for the game ebbed and flowed.

After a spell of neat passing, the hosts extended their lead to 5-2.

Corbridge’s work rate never relented, however, and they reduced the deficit to 5-3.

A comeback was still on the cards, until a mix-up in the Corbridge defence led to them conceding a sixth goal.

The Hexham forwards pounded on a sloppily taken free kick, and secured a memorable cup victory.

The game saw man of the match Olly James score four goals for Hexham, while Tom Lewis netted twice.

Hexham FC coach Andy Turnbull said: “Both teams deserve credit for the way they approached and played this final match.

“On a glorious afternoon on the Sele for playing football, the Hexham players were playing in their very last West Division Cup match before they leave junior football at the end of the season. It was a very entertaining tournament and well done to players of all teams for taking part and giving it their all.”

Undefeated Prudhoe were second in the round robin table, on two points, after a 2-2 draw with Corbridge, and a 3-3 draw with Hexham.

Corbridge settled for third place in the closely-contested tournament, picking up a point against Prudhoe.