Moore remains positive after Hebburn Town fall to Guiseley defeat

Daniel Moore refused to get too disheartened by Hebburn Town’s defeat at Northern Premier League Premier Division rivals Ashton United.

Both sides went into Saturday’s meeting at Nethermoor sat in the play-off places after enjoying positive runs of form - but it was the Lions that secured the points thanks to two second-half penalties from Will Longbottom. After a tight and nervy opening 45 minutes, the Hornets came close to edging in front just seconds before half-time when Amar Purewal saw a powerful effort tipped against the post by hosts keeper Joe Cracknell.

A handball in the Hebburn area gave Guiseley a chance to open the scoring 11 minutes into the second-half and Longbottom made no mistake with the resulting penalty. The Lions forward was handed another opportunity from 12 yards with just under quarter of an hour remaining and he kept his cool once again to beat Kieran Hunter from the spot for a second time to ensure his side came out on top after a hard-fought contest.

Despite the defeat, Hebburn still remain in the play-off places in non-league’s third tier and Moore was keen to take the positives from a loss against a side he rates highly.

He told The Gazette: “I was pleased with how we played, we played really well and their first penalty just changed the game. Neither team were giving anything away and it probably had a goalless draw written all over it to be honest. Both teams defended well and in the first-half, it was probably the best 45 minutes we’ve played this season. They are a good side, big and strong, put the ball in good areas and they are always dangerous but it just came down to the penalties. We got them last week, they went against us this week but I’m not too down about it. The lads have a points total to get to and we will start trying to get towards that total next Saturday.”

The Hornets will hope to return to winning ways when they entertain Ashton United next weekend.