Hebburn's celebrations cut short as Northallerton spoil the party

The historic occasion was marred by a sub-standard display from the home side as they slipped to a heavy defeat in their Division Two clash.

The day had started with the Mayor of South Tyneside Richard Porthouse and Northern League chairman Mike Amos presenting the club with a special award to mark their milestone, but that was as good as it got for the Hornets as they produced their worst home performance of the season.

In the opening seconds, Marc Costello hit the side netting via a Glen Hargrave long throw but their Yorkshire opponents looked sharper all over the pitch and took the lead when the their right winger outpaced Scott Wallace to square the ball to Elliott McGlade to make it 1-0.

Hargreave hit the keeper’s legs after 30 minutes but then a mix up between Kris Summers, Ross Toward and keeper Steve Hubery led to the secod goal on 35 minutes for Northallerton’s Aaron Ramsbottom.

Hebburn went in at half time 2-0 down with much to discuss, and were sent out for the second half early, but despite an improvement, they found it difficult to turn their possession into chances.

On the hour mark, Craig Malley was pulled back in the box but the referee waved away the penalty appeals and as Hebburn pushed forward they conceded two late goals to Ramsbottom and Danny McClachlan as Northallerton showed why they are pushing for a top-six finish.

Oliver was left deeply disappointed by the performance and result, and couldn’t hide his feelings.

He said: “I will not make excuses for the players for that performance – they went through the motions, especially in the first half.

“I ask people to come to our games and they get that display served up – they must be thinking I’m mad.

“We had words at half-time and full-time, and a lot of thinking needs to be done in the next three weeks.

“I cannot remember being as angry at full-time during my time at Hebburn. I hope the players are hurting as much as me.”

Hebburn now sit 13th in the Division Two table. They are back in action on Saturday at Willington.