Hebburn Town manager targets history ahead of Durham Challenge Cup Final

Hebburn Town player-manager Daniel Moore believes his players want to write their own names in the club’s history books as they prepare for Wednesday night’s Durham Challenge Cup Final meeting with Spennymoor Town.

The current crop of Hornets players have made a little bit of history this season by securing the club’s highest ever league finish after ending the campaign sat in third place in the Northern Premier League East Division table. Any thoughts of promotion were ended by a heartbreaking penalty shoot-out defeat against Long Eaton United in last week’s play-off semi-final.

But the curtain will officially come down on what has been a season of progression at the Green Energy Sports Ground when Moore takes his side into their Challenge Cup Final clash with his former club Spennymoor. The trip to the Stadium of Light offers the Hornets boss and his squad an opportunity to become only the second Hebburn side to win the competition, 30 years after current chairman Vin Pearson led them to a final win over Billingham Synthonia.

Moore insisted he will not lreflect on the last year until Wednesday’s final is over as he prepares his side for ‘a big test’ against the National League North club.

He told The Gazette: “The lads deserve to be in a cup final, they deserve to be out there. It’s going to be a big test for us but it’s something we can look forward to and hopefully end the season with some silverware. When I came here, it’s a brilliant club, it has lots of history, but we want to write our own and I think we have taken a first step to doing that.

“It should make the players hungry for more success next season and that is the plan. I am already planning for next year and we want to have a good crack at winning the league next season and making sure nights like the Challenge Cup Final is a regular thing. I won’t reflect on the season until that game is done because that’s the most important thing. We will try and get some silverware to end this season and then look at building on the progress we have made.”

Moore has several big calls to make ahead of the game with a number of players pushing for a recall after being named as substitutes for the play-off defeat against Long Eaton.