Non-league trio to be recognised alongside Sunderland and Newcastle stars at Football Writers awards
Three non-league clubs will be honoured by the North East’s football writers this weekend.
Gateshead, Hebburn Town and Stockton Town are to be honoured at the North East Football Writers Association’s annual awards on Sunday night.
The trio of North East non-league clubs will be recognised for their achievements of last season alongside the likes of Sunderland duo Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg, Newcastle United’s Dan Burn and Alexander Isak and Durham Women midfielder Mollie Lambert. The event takes place on Sunday night at Ramside Hall in Durham and this year’s visit will mean Gateshead, who will be honoured for their FA Trophy Final win against Solihull Moors, have now been recognised by the region’s football writers on four occasions in the last six years.
Speaking ahead of the awards, Heed chairman Neil Pinkerton revealed his delight over seeing the club honoured once again and is hoping to make further progress in the near future.
He told The Echo: “We go back to six years ago and what we have achieved is phenomenal and now we really want to push on and galvanise the borough. (Being recognised) is testament to everybody’s commitment, support and drive to ensure we continue to reach new heights every season. Despite winning the FA Trophy last season, we’ve hit new heights in the National League again and we are on target for a better points tally than last season and that’s all you can ask for. Each year, that bit of improvement and hopefully, with a little bit of luck, we can soon be in the EFL.”
Hebburn Town will be honoured for their remarkable Northern Premier League East title win as Daniel Moore’s side enjoyed a remarkable second half of last season as they won 12 of their last 13 league games to pip Stockton to the Northern Premier League East Division title on the final day of the campaign. Two goals from Dean Briggs were enough to claim a win at Sheffield on a dramatic day when the Hornets were crowned champions and secured a first ever season in the third tier of the non-league game. This will be the second time the club have been recognised in recent years and chief executive Stephen Rutherford believes the invite is a sign of the on and off-field progress made at the club during that time.
He said: “The Football Writers Awards, it’s an honour to be invited and to celebrate our success from last season. It’s a good all-round event for the North East and we also have Chris Rigg there this year, who is a Hebburn lad and previously there was Dan Neil, who came from our junior setup. In the eight years I’ve been involved with the senior side, we have taken massive strides on and off the field and it’s a credit to the volunteers, supporters, the owners and the lads that do it on the pitch.”
Stockton have also been honoured after they bounced back from missing out on the NPL East title in some style. Michael Dunwell’s side came through a play-off semi-final against Carlton Town with a 2-0 win thanks to a Glen Butterworth brace before claiming yet another promotion thanks to a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory against Dunston UTS. The two North East sides shared eight goals over an action-packed 120 minutes at the Map Group UK Stadium before Stephen Thompson struck the winning spot-kick to give his side a 5-3 win on penalties and ensure they claimed a fourth promotion inside a decade.
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