Hornets' second half display stuns Durham City

The Hornets went into this game on the back of an unbeaten run which has seen eight victories and two draws since the turn of the year.

In their first home game since February, the Hornets started off on the back foot and looked somewhat nervous throughout.

Durham put Hebburn under a lot of early pressure and flashed two shots just wide of the post.

As Hebburn got more into their stride, Rhys Williams headed a Gary Shaw free-kick narrowly wide.

Rhys Williams then hit the underside of the bar from a corner kick, and then Gary Shaw smashed the rebound against the post.

The Durham keeper had no chance when Craig Malley rose to meet a corner to power a header into the far corner to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead.

The second half started off with the Citizens equalising, when the ball was blocked on the line, only to be forced home by Wilkie.

Hebburn deservedly regained the lead when excellent play by Kanda ended with a short pass to Dan Robinson, who picked his spot to beat the keeper.

This seemed to knock the spirit out of Durham, and five minutes later the score became 3-1 when Kanda headed a Shaw corner into the roof of the net.

In the final quarter, manager Scott Oliver brought on Callum Smith and Paul Chow to replace Malley and Robinson.

The Chow substitution proved to be beneficial when Peter Jones found Chow in the box and the striker was able to turn his man before firing home.

However, the best was still to come in the final minutes of the game. Hebburn were awarded a free-kick 25 yards out.

Paul Chow stepped up to hit a tremendous swerving shot into the top left hand corner of the goal with the keeper helpless.

The Hornets gave probably their best performance of the season in the second half to stay well in contention for promotion.

It will be a tough run-in to the end of the season starting away to Tow Law Town next Saturday.