Hebburn Town boss calls for 'killer instinct' after FA Cup victory

Hebburn Town warmed up for their FA Vase semi-final in the best possible fashion as they saw off Hemsworth MW in the FA Cup extra preliminary round.
Picture: Richard WaughPicture: Richard Waugh
Picture: Richard Waugh

Amar Purewal grabbed his first competitive goal for the Hornets to fire them in front just after the quarter-hour mark, but they were pegged back by a Jason Davies strike on 26 minutes.

Graeme Armstrong restored Hebburn’s lead from the penalty spot before half-time and there was no stopping Bolam’s side in the second-half as a Michael McKeown goal and Armstrong’s second of the night sent them into the preliminary round.

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The Hornets boss praised his side for their performance – but called for more of a killer instinct over the coming weeks.

Bolam told The Gazette: “The lads played well from start to finish to be fair to them.

“We probably could have scored more on the night, but you don’t really get anything extra for that I guess.

“We did a little bit of research on Hemsworth and they had a really positive pre-season.

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“We were aware of their dangers, but as soon as we got to grips with those, it was all about us.

“Our lack of killer instinct probably meant they stayed in the game for longer than they should have and that’s something we need to improve on I think.”

The win sees the Hornets pick up £1,125 in FA Cup prize money and sets up a home tie against Pontefract Collieries in the preliminary round.

The two sides met at the same stage last season as the Northern Premier League North West Division club claimed a 4-1 win in a replay on South Tyneside.

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Bolam is already looking forward to a reunion with last season’s conquerors and challenged his players to show that they have improved since that poor performance.

“It’ll be nice to face them again and they look a very different side this season,” he explained.

“We want to show them that we are a decent side, and as much as they were very good in last season’s replay, we were very poor on the night.”