Hebburn Town make the short trip to National League North rivals Darlington on Saturday afternoon.

Hebburn Town FC manager Daniel Moore believes his players have moved on from their FA Cup disappointment and are now fully focused on Saturday’s North East derby at Darlington.

The Hornets fell well of the high standards they have set during the opening weeks of the season when they crashed to a 4-1 home defeat against former Northern Premier League rivals Guiseley that ended any thoughts of progressing towards the first round proper of the FA Cup. Moore’s squad assessed their performance in training in midweek - and the Hornets boss has been heartened by the reaction of his players as they now look to return to winning ways at Blackwell Meadows on Saturday afternoon.

Elliot Forbes celebrates after scoring Hebburn Town's second goal in their 2-1 home win against National League North rivals Hednesford Town (photo Tyler Lopes) | Tyler Lopes

placeholder image — Elliot Forbes celebrates after scoring Hebburn Town's second goal in their 2-1 home win against National League North rivals Hednesford Town (photo Tyler Lopes) | Tyler Lopes

He told The Gazette: “We have watched the goals back and even the lads were asking what they were doing. They know themselves. As long as it doesn’t happen again, we learn from it and take responsibility, we can use it as a positive. Everyone wants to beat us now, we have to take ownership of that and deal with the fact we have a responsibility to perform, to keep the ball out of the net, to work hard, to create chances, to do our jobs.

“We looked at last weekend, we were disappointed and we have now moved on. But it’s the bigger picture, Saturday is the ideal game for us to go into because it’s a big game against a big club.”

A strong travelling support is expected to make the trip to Darlington and get behind Moore and his players as the Hornets look to claim a win that could lift them as high as second in the table if results elsewhere fall in their favour. Moore refuted a suggestion that support should act as motivation for his players - and insisted no player should need more motivation to impress in such a big game.

He said: “You can try and motivate the players but it’s down to them as well and they know themselves. If you can’t be motivated for a derby against a massive club, former league club, and a game in front of a big crowd, something is wrong. The lads are looking forward to it.”

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