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Blackhall Hardwick Football Club History |
Season 2003/2004
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Blackhall Hardwick Football Club was formed in 2003 and entered into the Hartlepool Church League.
The club was managed by Blackhall legend Don “Spooky” Naylor in its first campaign which was by in large a transitional season on the league front with the club failing to finish in the top six.
The club did however manage to reach the final of the Memorial Shield where, after going down to 10 men in the early stages of the game, they lost 4-1 to Hartlepool Chester Hotel despite a battling performance.
Season 2004/2005
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The 2004/2005 season saw major changes on both the playing and managerial fronts in a bid to progress the club both on and off the field.
Keith Bell eventually took over the managers post and made several new signings over the course of the season to compliment the players already at the club. These changes seen the team go from mid-table mediocrity to title challengers.
After a poor start to the season where the club didn’t win either of their first two games Blackhall went on a fantastic run which seen them take the title race down to the very last game of the season. Blackhall needed to beat Hartlepool Sanderson’s whilst relying on Hartlepool Warrior to beat Seaton FC. Blackhall did what they had to do by sweeping aside an inferior Sanderson’s but all to no avail as Seaton triumphed against Warrior to take the title by just two points.
Silverware did arrive that season though in the form of the Memorial Shield which they won 4-3 on penalties in probably the most heart stopping game any Blackhall side has ever been involved in. Three times Blackhall came back from behind, twice at the death with equalisers in the last minute of normal time and extra time through Graeme Ball and Andrew Harrison to take the game into penalties. Again Blackhall found themselves on the back foot though after an early miss in the shoot-out only to see Keeper Chris Rookes step forward and make two tremendous saves to ensure Blackhall achieved their first piece of silverware.
They were also victorious in the Millennium Shield in which Blackhall beat a League Select XI 2-1 with goals from Andy Cowell and Graeme Ball to ensure a cup double for the season.
Season 2005/2006
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Blackhall began the 2005/2006 season as everyone's favourites to win the League Title.
The team was strengthened again with a few more new signings which took the squad onto the next level performance wise.
Blackhall exploded out of the blocks scoring moutains of goals and beating title rivals Seaton FC (2-1), Hartlepool Warrior (4-1) and Hartlepool Headland (6-2) in the best possible start to the season.
The standard was now set and Blackhall didn't take their foot off the gas all season, at one point they won 12-0 back to back in consecutive weeks.
No-one in the League could cope with Blackhall's mix of fast, flowing, tenacious football and the League Title was virtually a nailed on certainty by Christmas as Blackhall went into the season break with a massive gap between themselves and their rivals.
Opposition teams went the same way in the Cup competitions as well as Blackhall marched into all four Cup finals and an unprecedented clean sweep was now on the cards.
The Club also reached the semi-final of the County Cup where they were agonisingly beaten 4-1 by Coundon Leeholme in horrendous, sub-zero condtions of pouring sleet and rain on a water-logged cow field of a pitch after leading 1-0 at half-time.
This didn't phase the players though and the clean sweep (5 Trophies: League Title & 4 Cups) was completed without Blackhall losing a single domestic game all season, an achievement that had never been done before.
Season 2006/2007
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Blackhall began the 2006/2007 season in the Durham Alliance League and were optimistic that they could compete well at this standard.
The squad was strengthened again through the season with new signings, Wayne Sullivan and Graeme Bell signed to add more firing power up front and the back line was strengthed with the signings of John Pyle and the versitile Chris Edwards. Neil Moffat also came back for a second spell with the club.
Blackhall began well winning their first 4 Legaue games before being brought crashing back to earth by reigning League Champions Ashbrooke Belford who won 5-3 at Welfare Park in early September.
Blackhall bounced back from this minor setback by going winning 7 of their next 8 League games before a desperate performance away to Ryton saw them bow out of the County Cup at the first hurdle.
Blackhall pressed on though and went on another unbeaten streak, hitting top spot early in December after a 3-1 away to Shildon Railway.
A big test of their capabilities came when they met League Runners Up and Title contenders Whitehill at Welfare Park in the Quarter Final of the Washington Aged People's Trophy. After a tense game which ended 1-1 after 90 minutes and extra-time it was Blackhall who prevailed, winning 4-3 on penalties.
They met Whitehill again later in the month in a massive six pointer in the Title race. Blackhall turned in a tremendous display away from home to deservedly win 2-0, they were now favourites for the League Title.
Brandon Prince Bishop were disposed of 4-1 at Welfare Park to put Blackhall into the Clem Smith Bowl Cup Final but their League campaign was starting to falter. An understrength side crashed 3-0 at Ebchester and then again a few weeks later, this time losing out 2-0 at home to Newton Aycliffe.
The Cup campaigns were going
slightly better though. Ryton were defeated on their own patch 2-0 in the Washington Aged Peoples Trophy but Ferryhill won the other Semi-Final 2-1 after Blackhall had been in front.
The two Cup Finals were to be played against Ashbrooke and both games were close.
The first, the Clem Smith Bowl, went to Ashbrooke who won 2-1, a 40 yard thunderbolt from their centre midfielder winning the game. Blackhall gained revenge however in the final of the Washington Aged Peoples Trophy winning an amazing game 6-5 and bringing the Trophy back to Blackhall on the 20th anniversary since Blackhall CW won it in '87.
With the Cups out of the way Blackhall now had a hectic run in with the destiny of the League Championship still in their hands.
It proved to be a step to far though as Blackhall continuely faltered.
They put Ashbrooke out of the race with a fantastic 2-1 win away from home but Whitehill were right on their tales and pounced when Blackhall slipped up with 3 2-2 draws in the space of a week.
Whitehill came to Blackhall on the last day of the Colliery sides season knowing that if anything but defeat would virtually seal the Title for them.
Blackhall won 1-0, the 3rd time they had beaten Whitehill this season, but Whitehill had 4 games in hand to be played over the following week.
They needed to take 9 points from this possible 12 to get back above Blackhall and with 3 wins and a draw from these games they did what they needed and took the Title by 2 points.
Blackhall's first season in the Durham Alliance League was a positive one, they finished runners-up in the League, runners-up in a Cup, won another Cup and reached the Semi-Final of the other. But this season will always be rememebered as one of buts, ifs and maybes as the possibility of the League Championship and a clean sweep was thrown away when it was there for the taking.
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