Moore delighted as hard work pays off for Hebburn Town in win against Blyth Spartans

Daniel Moore hailed his Hebburn Town players after they boosted their Northern Premier League Premier Division play-off push by completing a league double over Blyth Spartans.

Strong winds battered the Hornets’ home on Saturday afternoon and that meant Moore’s men had to produce a performance full of contrasting styles to gain yet another three points against their struggling visitors. There were just eight minutes on the clock when former Spartans loan signing Joao Gomes put Hebburn in front as he rounded off an incisive passing move with a fine finish beyond on-loan Sunderland goalkeeper Adam Richardson.

Another former Spartan doubled the lead just before the half-hour mark as Matty Elsdon found the net against his old club and Amar Purewal took his side out of sight when the Hornets top goalscorer added a third in the opening stages of the second-half.

Connor Pani reduced the arrears for Spartans with just under 20 minutes remaining and there was some sporadic moments of pressure from the visitors as they played with the benefit of having the wind at their backs throughout the second-half. However, much to their manager’s satisfaction, Hebburn produced a solid defensive display to ensure they head into the final week of the year on a high.

Speaking after the game, Moore told The Gazette: “We had to show two sides of the game. In the first-half, we were really good and we could have had a couple more goals.  The first goal was something we worked on in training and it’s always nice when that happens. But we had to show the other side of our game in the second-half with the wind in our faces, we defended our box really well and the back four were outstanding. We are just really pleased with the overall performance because it showed the different sides to our team.”

The Hornets will be back in action on Boxing Day when they travel down the A19 to take on former East Division title rivals Stockton Town for the first time since both clubs secured promotion into step three last season.