Moore bemoans 'sucker punch' decision as Hebburn Town fall to Matlock defeat

Hebburn Town manager Daniel Moore was left to rue a ‘sucker punch’ as his side fell to a surprise home defeat against Northern Premier League Premier Division strugglers Matlock Town.

The Hornets were firm favourites to claim a win against a side sat at the bottom of the step three table ahead of their visit to South Tyneside - but were condemned to a home defeat for the second consecutive weekend by a Reece Kendall penalty and a header from Charlie Oglesby. It was the decision to award the spot-kick for the first of those goals that irked Moore as midfielder Liam Noble appeared to pull out of a challenge on Harry Wood before referee Conor Ledgeway pointed to the spot.

After a below-par performance during the opening 45 minutes, the Hornets had made a bright start to the second-half and appeared to be getting on top prior to the decision to award the penalty with just under 25 minutes remaining. Moore stressed that changed the course of the game as his side went looking for a win and admitted he had some sympathy for his players after they came out on the wrong end of the decision.

He told The Gazette: “I thought in the first-half, it was a nothing game. We weren’t great, I didn’t think they were great and there were only a couple of chances for either side but nothing major. For the neutral, you’re probably saying nil-nil written all over it. At half-time, we were harsh on the lads because we are better than that, especially with the ball, and we used it better in the first 20 minutes after half-time. Then we were done with a sucker punch on the penalty and I’m not really sure how that decision has been given. From then, you’re chasing the game and it’s not an excuse but when you’ve got them pushed back in the early part of the half and you’ve got a bit of momentum only to be hit with that punch, it’s difficult and I really feel for the players because we did get a bit of a reaction out of them after half-time.”

Hebburn are back in action on Tuesday night when they travel to Premier Division title favourites Macclesfield for the first part of a testing away day double header. Hot on the heels of that meeting with Robbie Savage’s side will be a visit to former East Division rivals Worksop Town next Saturday afternoon.