Moore wants Christmas cheer as Hebburn Town prepare for Blyth Spartans clash

Hebburn Town manager Daniel Moore has challenged his players to impress in front of what he hopes will be a strong crowd for Saturday’s all-North East clash with Blyth Spartans.

Just over four months have passed since the two sides met at Croft Park as a deflected Leo Robinson strike ensured the Hornets claimed a 1-0 win in their first ever away game in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. Since then, Moore’s men have produced a number of eye-catching results and despite falling to a narrow defeat at Bamber Bridge last weekend, they will head into the festive period looking to push back towards the play-off places in non-league’s third tier.

By contrast, Spartans will arrive at Hebburn Sports Ground sat at the bottom of the table and without a win in their last 12 games in all competitions. There have been some small signs of improvement from Michael Connor’s men after they secured draws in three of their last four games - and Moore has urged his squad to be ready for the challenge that lies ahead on Saturday afternoon.

He told The Gazette: “I am looking forward to it and there will be a decent crowd in with it being a game against another North East side. The lads will have needed the rest given by the free midweek because they’ve played two games in 36 hours so we had to look after them. We will have had a session off and then in on Thursday to make sure we prepare for Blyth and we will have to be ready because they are desperate for a win and we know that. It’s a great game to have just before Christmas and we know they have improved from when we played them at their place. But we are at home, we want a big crowd and want to get those three points in front of our own supporters because it’s a big game for everyone involved.”

Moore will be without the suspended Joe Walton after he was shown a red card inside the opening two minutes of last weekend’s defeat at Bamber Bridge.

Meanwhile, Spartans have been warned they must take three points from their visit to Hebburn.

They lie ten points adrift of eighteenth placed Warrington Rylands, who sit just outside of the relegation zone ahead of the Christmas period. After failing to claim a win in his first seven games in charge of the Croft Park club, former Blyth Town manager Connor knows exactly what is needed going forwards.

He said: “It’s a derby game in this division and for us, we want our first win because it feels like it’s going on forever. We are getting closer but at times, we are being punished for mistakes. We need to go there and be positive, we need those points, we need three points, we need three points against Whitby on Boxing Day, we need three points at Morpeth after that. Every game from now on, we need three points.”

Former Hebburn winger Dean Briggs could make his first start for Spartans after coming off the bench to score in last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Prescot Cables.