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NPL round-up | Hebburn crowned champions, Stockton secure play-offs and Whitby survive

Hebburn Town were crowned champions of the Northern Premier League, securing promotion to the National League North on the final day of the season.

Daniel Moore’s side knew they needed to match Hednesford Town’s result to maintain their place atop the division. In the end, they went one better and won for the fifth consecutive outing, while Hednesford drew.

Goals from Micky Turner and Joao Gomes ensured a 2-0 win over Rushall Olympic for the Hornets.

Meanwhile, the Pitmen played out an entertaining 3-3 draw with Ashton United, coming back from two goals down at half-time.

George Williams capped off the comeback in the 94th minute after Joe Doyle-Charles pulled one back earlier in the half.

Hednesford have to settle for a play-off spot though, and they’ll be taking on Stockton Town, after they secured the final place in the top five with victory away at Warrington Rylands.

The Anchors headed to the Quickline Arena knowing that fifth place was in their hands. In the end, Kevin Hayes was the hero from the spot with 10 minutes to go, leading his side to a crucial 2-1 win.

That proved to be heartbreak for Lancaster City, who were in the play-offs until that goal, as they led against basement club Stocksbridge Park Steels.

The Dolly Blues would win 2-0, but even with that, Stockton finished a point ahead of them in the race for fifth place.

Gainsborough Trinity wouldn’t have secured play-off football with a win, but they conceded three times inside the opening 32 minutes against Hyde United and couldn’t recover, losing 3-1.

Down at the bottom, Whitby Town knew that they needed just a point to secure survival, and they ground out a 0-0 draw with Cleethorpes Town to ensure that happened.

It means that, despite wins for both Prescot Cables and Morpeth Town on the day, both succumbed to relegation.

Goals either side of half-time from Sharif Deans and Jack Goodwin led Cables to a 2-0 win over Bamber Bridge, while Morpeth scored twice in the second half through Will Dowling and JJ Hooper to also win 2-0 against Warrington Town.

Elsewhere, Workington’s final game at Borough Park was a celebratory occasion, with 2,387 fans packing the stands to watch Billy Barr’s Reds take on Leek Town.

They weren’t able to mark the occasion with three points, as Hayden Campbell netted the only goal of the game to secure a sixth straight win to end the season for Josh Brehaut’s side.

And FC United of Manchester, like Rylands, will be entering their play-off semi-final on the back of a defeat on the final day, as they lost 3-2 at Ilkeston Town.

Harvey Kirby-Moore netted twice in three second-half minutes to give the Robins a commanding lead, after the two sides went into the break even at a goal apiece.

Gez Sithole did pull one back for FC United, but it wasn’t enough to avoid defeat for Mark Beesley’s side.

Attention now turns to the play-offs, which begin on Tuesday night.

Results - Saturday 25 April