Hebburn Town boss praises his squad after unbeaten pre-season run continues with win at South Shields

Hebburn Town manager Kevin Bolam praised his side after they continued their strong start to pre-season with a narrow win at Northern Premier League neighbours South Shields.
Hebburn TownHebburn Town
Hebburn Town

The Hornets made the short trip to the newly named 1st Cloud Arena looking to extend their unbeaten run in pre-season to fourth game.

And that was exactly what they did as midfielder Robbie Spence struck the only goal of the game inside the final five minutes with a stunning long-range effort.

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Bolam revealed his satisfaction at his players showing control and discipline against two different South Shields sides that controlled possession for long periods of the game.

He told The Gazette: “I think if you take the result away, and look at the performance alone, we can be really pleased with the lads.

“You know South Shields are going to have a lot of possession and we dealt with that really well.

“We played two different sides and we played both really well because we had to show a lot of discipline.

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“It’s been a good pre-season; we have played some really good opposition and it’s helping us improve the off-the-ball stuff, which is something we identified needed improving.

“I want to improve on last season and one thing we identified is the off the ball stuff.

“We are doing that really well and we need to take it forwards.”

The new season took another step closer for Hebburn on Tuesday afternoon when the draw for the early rounds of the FA Cup were released.

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The Hornets have been handed a home tie against Northern Counties East League club Hemsworth Miners Welfare in the extra preliminary round.

A win at the Green Energy Sports Ground would land Hebburn prize money to the tune of £1,125 and a preliminary round home tie against Pontefract Collieries, who sent Bolam’s side out of the competition last season.

Despite having an opportunity to avenge that 4-0 home defeat, the Hornets boss warned his players not to look beyond their meeting with Hemsworth.

“We want to have a bit of a cup run and having a home draw is a massive positive for us,” he explained.

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“We don’t know too much about them, but I can promise you we will by the time we play them.

“The draw has been kind, but only because we are at home and that’s what any side wants at this stage.

“The simple fact is if we aren’t at it, or start looking at playing Pontefract, we will get turned over.”

Hebburn return to action on Saturday when they entertain Northern Premier League North West Division club Marske United at the Green Energy Sports Ground.