Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ben Hedley [1] | ||
Date of birth | 18 October 1998 | ||
Place of birth | Gateshead, England | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Darlington | ||
Number | 2 | ||
Youth career | |||
–2017 | Morecambe | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2017–2019 | Morecambe | 2 | (0) |
2017 | → Witton Albion (loan) | 17 | (1) |
2019 | Bradford (Park Avenue) | 7 | (0) |
2019– | Darlington | 153 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:28, 2 March 2025 (UTC) |
Ben Hedley (born 18 October 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for National League North club Darlington. He previously played in the Football League for Morecambe, as well as in non-league football for Witton Albion and Bradford (Park Avenue).
Hedley came through the Morecambe Academy to make his first-team debut on 6 May 2017, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for Aaron Wildig in a 3–1 defeat at Luton Town. [2] He signed his first professional contract with the club the following month. [3]
On 15 August 2017, he joined Northern Premier League Premier Division club Witton Albion on an initial one-month loan; "Shrimps" manager Jim Bentley said that "he'll be in good hands at Witton with the management (Carl MacCauley and Gary Martindale) who are both good football people that I trust to do right by Ben". [4] His loan spell was extended into a second month after he impressed in his first eight starts for the club, [5] and was extended a second time. He scored his first senior goal on 14 October in a 5–2 victory over Coalville Town at Wincham Park, and finished the loan spell with 19 appearances in all competitions. [6] [7]
Hedley was named Morecambe's Reserve Team Player of the Year for 2017–18. [8] In 2018–19, he featured twice in the EFL Trophy, [9] and made his first Football League start on 23 October 2018 in a 1–0 defeat at home to Mansfield Town; the Lancashire Post described it as a "solid debut". [10] Despite being named as a substitute on 38 occasions, he made no more league appearances and was released at the end of the season. [9] [11]
On 7 June 2019, Hedley joined National League North club Bradford (Park Avenue), managed by Garry Thompson with whom he had played at Morecambe. [12] Thompson was dismissed just two matches into the season, [13] and Hedley played in seven before leaving for another National League North club, Darlington, in early September. [9] [14]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League cup [a] | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Morecambe | 2016–17 [15] | League Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2017–18 [16] | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2018–19 [17] | League Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 [b] | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
Witton Albion (loan) | 2017–18 [6] | NPL Premier Division | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 [c] | 0 | 19 | 1 |
Bradford (Park Avenue) | 2019–20 [9] | National League North | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
Darlington | 2019–20 [9] [18] | National League North | 22 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 4 [c] | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
2020–21 [9] [19] | National League North | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 2 [c] | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
2021–22 [9] [20] | National League North | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 [c] | 0 | 36 | 0 | ||
2022–23 [9] [21] | National League North | 40 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 [c] | 1 | 45 | 1 | ||
2023–24 [9] [22] | National League North | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 [c] | 0 | 37 | 0 | ||
2024–25 [9] | National League North | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
Total | 153 | 0 | 13 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | 177 | 1 | |||
Career total | 179 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 207 | 2 |