HAMBLE Club are celebrating back-to-back promotions after unexpectedly clinching the Sydenhams One championship on Saturday.

The merry Monks thought they would be kept waiting at least until Wednesday's visit to Andover New Street to get the title in the bag.

But Saturday’s 2-0 home win over Laverstock & Ford, coupled with nearest rivals Baffins Milton Rovers losing 2-0 at Ringwood, means Hamble have lifted the crown in their first season up from the Hampshire Premier League.

After a goalless first half at the Hamble Community Facility, the Monks discovered that Baffins – shorn of leading scorers Ryan Pennery and Tyler Moret – were one down.

But Hamble suffered a blow early in the second half when Craig Shrimpton was sent off for retaliation, leaving them to soldier on with ten men.

It mattered not. With 70 minutes gone, the ground erupted when Dougie Rowe latched onto James Vinton’s clearance and steered in his 32nd goal of the campaign.

And it was skipper Liam Crook who crowned victory when his in-swinging corner was ruled to have crossed the line before the 'keeper caught it.

Jubilant co-manager Ben Kneller said: “It was nice to win it at home.

“The second goal happened right in front of our chairman Mick Clarke, who’s put so much time and effort in, so it was great to see the lads diving on him in celebration.

“We won the Hampshire Premier two seasons ago and couldn’t go up and then last year got promoted in third with Baffins winning it.

“It’s nice to get into the Wessex Premier as champions.

“We have a good squad and a real togetherness.

“There are lots of friends in the team, which helps, and I think that’s why Sholing won the FA Vase.

“It was the same at Winchester City under Paul McCarthy."

With 29 wins and three draws from 36 games and 120 goals scored, Hamble Club have been the class act of the league.

Kneller, though, is the first to admit that the Monks' late February/March form was not the greatest.

“When you’re at the top, you’re there to be shot at and we haven’t been great in the last month or so,” he confessed.

“We lost at Romsey, drew with Shaftesbury and then lost 2-0 at Downton.

“I think the Downton defeat was the turning point. We told the players that if they didn’t get this done, they’d put themselves out of the title race.

“But results went our way - we didn’t expect Baffins to lose at Andover New Street last week – and on Saturday the lads played really well against Laverstock.

“There are some strong sides in this league like Shaftesbury, Ringwood and US Portsmouth, so it’s good we’ve got out of it at the first time of asking.

"If we hadn’t, with these other teams rebuilding, it might have taken three or four years.”