Ben Hedley

Ben Hedley (born 18 October 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for 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). Playing career 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. He signed his first professional contract with the club the following month. 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". His loan spell was extended into a second month after he impressed in his first eight starts for the club, 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. Hedley was named Morecambe's Reserve Team Player of the Year for 2017–18. In 2018–19, he featured twice in the EFL Trophy, 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". Despite being named as a substitute on 38 occasions, he made no more league appearances and was released at the end of the season.