HARTLEY Wintney completed back-to-back promotions as they beat Cambridge City 1-0 in front of a bumper Bank Holiday crowd of 710.

The Row answered all the questions correctly against the University City team and graduate in the form of promotion to the Southern League Premier Division, alongside Basingstoke Town.

It was the Lillywhites who started the brighter and forced two early corners.

On 12 minutes the first chance came to the visitors. An accurate free kick on the right from Ryan Towner found the head of Sam Squire who saw his bullet header go narrowly past the post.

At the half way point in the half the Row started to gain a foothold in the game thanks to some darting runs from Paul Hodges and good hold up play from the two strikers Nic Ciardini and Jake Baxter.

Cambridge had a clear opening on 37 minutes when a cross from the right by Ben Seymore-Shove found James Hall.

The striker took the shot first time but fired over the crossbar.

Hartley responded and had a good spell which resulted in them opening the scoring. A free kick on the right some 30 yards from goal was delivered to the back post by Dean Stow.

Jack Ball rose highest and his towering header was goal bound. Nic Ciardini, showing poachers instinct, got the final touch as the ball crossed the line. (1-0) It was Hartley who started the better in the early stages of the second period.

On 49 minutes Steven Duff and Jake Baxter combined and the latter’s shot was deflected past the post.

With the Row pressing for a second goal they were almost undone by a long clearance from defence by City on 54 minutes.

The ball found its way to Ben Seymore-Shove on the left and his well controlled strike saw Paul Strudley do well to save high up and at full stretch.

Hartley resumed with the edge in play and a long forward pass on 58 minutes saw a good strike from Jake Baxter which brought out a good save by Lillywhites goalkeeper Josh Bexon who pushed the ball around the post.

Three minutes later Dean Stow made good progress down then right and his low delivery across the face of goal was narrowly missed by the inrushing Jake Baxter.

Philip Stayning the referee allowed a short delay in play for the teams to take on more water in the sweltering conditions.

On resumption City pressed forward trying to get on terms and asking all the questions.

On 76 minutes Ebby Nelson-Addy had a good run coming in from the right and was unlucky to see his stab shot go just past the post.

The Row had a good chance to seal the match on 84 minutes. Ciardini did well to hold on to possession and his cross found James Tennant with a clear chance.

The substitute took the shot early but without sufficient power and Bexon saved easily.

Cambridge pressed strongly towards the end and forced several corners which the Row defended well.

Moving into four minutes of added time Hartley had a scare when a header back to Paul Strudley saw him scrambling to save and the Row were grateful to smuggle the ball out for a corner. This led to good deliveries which saw Hartley do well to scramble the ball out of the penalty area. The final whistle sounded and Hartley Wintney had secured promotion amongst joyous scenes.

Cambridge City were worthy opponents who brought a good support with them. One imagines on the evidence of the three matches against the Row this season they will be in contention for promotion again next season.

After the final whistle all the Hartley players received medals from the league as well as a play off winners trophy.

The man of the match award from the Sponsors Mason Advisory went to Jack Ball.

For the Row it was heroes all with a battling performance. They have shown time and again throughout the season they are resilient and capable to adapting to change.

In the early part of the season much of their game plan was around the goal scoring abilities of Sam Argent. When the striker moved on the team acquired the services of Rowan Vine whose link up play going forward saw the team in good form in the early part of the year.

As a result the team gained ground on the leaders before Rowan Vine moved to Gosport Borough as manager, The latter part of the season has seen the team adapt again with a solid and resolute defence which saw them unlucky not to gain automatic promotion.

Without doubt this season will live long in the memory of everyone associated with the club. Enormous credit goes to the many people who make things happen off the pitch under the guidance of chairman Luke Mullen.

The two young team managers Daniel Brownlie and Anthony Millerick supported by coach Luke Tuffs have been inspirational and an excellent squad of players; one and all; have passed every exam with distinction.

Brownlie said: "I am totally proud of all the players who have played for us. This includes the ones in the previous two seasons.

"The way the players have responded to changes in circumstances at various stages in the season has been exceptional. We lost both our main strikers from last season within the first few months of this season. Rowan Vine joined and his experience with his link up play and advice was invaluable. In the latter part of the season the defence has come to the fore with Jack Ball and Liam Eagle having powerful games."

Millerick said: "We had a game plan and we stuck to it rigidly. We knew we had to adapt to playing against big teams in the play-offs.

He added: "Josh Webb has been immense in the play-off's as he has been all season. We think it is great to see our village team compete against sizeable towns and cities and do more than hold our own.

"I felt we should have converted a few of the chances that came our way in the second half to clinch the game.

We did ride our luck a bit towards the end. Cambridge City are a good side and their support in the big crowd helped make it a great occasion."