Hebburn Town midfielder bemoans luck in Ilkeston Town defeat

Hebburn Town stalwart Robbie Spence believes Saturday’s home defeat against Ilkeston Town was symptomatic of the poor luck his side have suffered in recent games.

The Hornets wasted a golden chance to take an early lead when Joe Posthill’s penalty was saved by visitors keeper Matthew Yates and that gave the Robins a platform for Lindon Meikle to put them in front as the quarter-hour mark approached. Their lead remained in place until the final minute when Olly Martin grabbed a dramatic equaliser - but there was still time for Tom Marshall to fire a dramatic winner from the penalty spot.

Spence bemoaned the Hornets luck and believes that has been the story of the second half of their first ever season in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

He told the club website: “I thought we were a bit unlucky today. Last week we were really poor so we needed a reaction today and for the most part of the game we got that. In the first-half, we were a little bit slow out of the blocks but could have go in front after a minute with a penalty. That knocked the stuffing out of us a bit and gave them confidence and knocked it out of us.

"We battled and stayed in the game. In the second-half we put them under pressure and 90 percent of the game was played in their half. We created chances, they put their bodies on the line and blocked everything, we got back into the game with Olly’s goal and unfortunately the ref has seen something and given a pen. It’s been the story of the last couple of months to be honest, we aren’t getting much luck.”

The defeat also marked Spence’s 250th appearance for the Hornets after joining Hebburn from Team Northumbria in the summer of 2018. The midfielder has helped the club to two promotions, an FA Vase final win and a Durham Challenge Cup final win during that time and he revealed his pride at reaching such a landmark.

He said: “It’s a lot of football that, isn’t it? It’s good, it’s been a good journey over about seven or eight years to be honest. (There have been) a lot of highs, different trophies won and I wasn’t aware it was that many (appearances) but it’s good and I’m proud.”

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