Moore calls for one final push for NPL East title from in-form Hebburn Town

Daniel Moore has challenged his Hebburn Town squad to claim a psychological boost by moving to the top of the Northern Premier League East table with a home win against Ashington on Thursday night.

The Hornets have hit a rich vein of form at just the right time by recovering from their Boxing Day defeat at the hands of their former Northern League rivals with a run of just one defeat in their last 15 games. The latest of those fixtures came on Tuesday night when captain Amar Purewal and defender Jack Donaghy both scored in a 2-0 win at Liversedge to move their side within two points of current leaders Stockton Town.

Significantly, Hebburn have the benefit of holding two games in hand on the Anchors as they prepare for a monumental final week of the season that could see Moore lead the club into step three of the non-league system for the first time in their 122-year history. With Thursday’s home clash with Ashington next on the agenda, the Hornets boss has called for focus and revealed his players are full of belief as they look to boost their promotion hopes with a tenth consecutive win.

He told The Gazette: “We were 18 points adrift at one point so if we can go ahead in the last week of the season, psychologically for us, the players can see what they have achieved. Anyone that knows me will know there has been no overthinking, we are just taking one game at a time because a couple of months ago when we had games called off, we fell out the play-offs and getting in was our aim.

“But the run we’ve been on has given us confidence and belief and we know we have to go into games needing results so the lads have been brilliant. We have stuck at what we’ve been doing all season, the players look fit, in the last week they might be dead on their feet but they’re going toe-to-toe with sides trying to stop us.”

After three consecutive away days that have seen the Hornets players and coaching staff rack up over 1,000 miles on the road, a home date with Ashington will provide some welcome relief for Moore and his squad. The Hebburn boss is relishing the opportunity to return home for the first time in just over three weeks and is hopefully a strong crowd can get behind his side in their bid for yet another three points.

He said: “We had some verbals in midweek about teams trying to ruin your chances of doing something, players want to do that and we get it. Thursday will be a tough game but after three away games, covering 1,000 miles, we are looking froward to getting back home. It’s all about mental resilience and it feels like we haven’t been at home for ages. We have been top class playing at three difficult places and getting three points at home with the help of our supporters is now our main aim.”