Hebburn Town secure historic play-off spot - but manager Daniel Moore warns there is still work to do

Daniel Moore described himself as ‘buzzing’ after Hebburn Town secured a Northern Premier League Premier Division play-off spot with a home win against Stockton Town - but the Hornets boss warned his players they still have work to do as they push for a historic title win.

Moore’s men have exceeded expectations all season to force themselves into a three-way title battle with FC United of Manchester and Hednesford Town and they had one eye on a Bank Holiday Monday clash between their title rivals as they took care of their own clash with Stockton. A goal from top scorer Gary Martin ensured Hebburn moved back to the top of the table with just three games remaining as Hednesford secured a 2-1 win at FC United to move into second place.

Moore praised his players for their performance in Monday’s win against their former Northern Premier League East title rivals - but is adamant his players must now focus on three potentially history-making games over the next fortnight.

“The lads were bang up for it today,” he explained after the win. “The Boxing Day game, fair play to them, they celebrated and I think a few of our lads took it personally. There was no team talk needed for today, we were desperate to get out there and prove a point as they have done all season. It’s a fantastic achievement to be confirmed in the play-offs. That group of players in there, they’ve been unbelievable, but we are not stopping. Some of them might be expecting a bit more but I’m not getting too excited. We’ve got three games left and some important games so you always enjoy the win. I’m buzzing for the players, I’m buzzing for the club. The lads have been outstanding.”

Massive difference

The Hornets’ bid for a historic promotion has brought an increase in attendances in recent weeks with their last three home games attracting a crowd in excess of 600. However, Monday’s attendance exceeded all expectations with over 1,500 supporters making their way to the Trustmark Group Stadium as Hebburn posted their biggest crowd of the season and reached four figures for the second time this season. There is just one home fixture remaining this season as Moore’s men host Rushall Olympic on the final day of the campaign - and Moore is hopeful his side will receive another impressive show of support as they look to secure promotion on the last Saturday of this month.

“It makes a massive difference. The lads love it. When you’re coming in and going out, and you see the amount of people in, and we’ve had that the last couple of weeks, they’ve got slightly bigger and slightly bigger. We’ve got one home game left, that’s last day of the season and we are going to need them. We could be playing to win the league so that game, whoever was here today, I’d say come back down because the lads have given everything they’ve got since the back end of June and I think they deserve that support.”

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