Hartlepool Chester Hotel are savouring winning the Darlington Charity Cup after beating Tindale Crescent WMC in the final held at the Darlington RA ground.

It meant the team completed a clean sweep of all domestic cups, the Hartlepool Church League as well as being crowned Charity Cup winners.

In a hard-fought game, Hartlepool just managed to edge out Bishop Auckland-based Tindale 2-1 but it was such a close contest the result could have gone either way in the Darlington Building Society-sponsored final.

Captain Alan Hoey said: "It just brought the curtain down on an incredible season for us all."

In the first half Lee Keers slotted home a penalty for Hartlepool after Neil Swift was brought down in the box. Midway through the second half, Swift doubled the advantage as he calmly steered the ball under the diving Tindale keeper.

Tindale were back in the game at 2-1 with 15 minutes remaining from a direct free kick but Chester held out despite some close shaves.

Under the terms of the competition the winners must choose a local charity to benefit from a donation of £500 raised by the Charity Cup Committee and Chester Hotel says the money will go to Bridge Youth Club in Hartlepool.

The Darlington Charity Cup was founded in 1908 and is one of the longest running Charity Cups in the region.

Darlington Building Society has sponsored the tournament for the past eight seasons and is keen to maintain its support for such a high profile grass roots soccer competition.

Presenting the trophy to the winning captain, David Copland, marketing and communications manager at Darlington Building Society offered his congratulations to Hartlepool Chester Hotel.

He said "Darlington Building Society is dedicated to looking after local interests so we are delighted to sponsor a competition which provides so much enjoyment to local footballers and benefits local charities at the same time."