Hebburn Town complete signing of two-time FA Vase winner

The 34-year-old stopper officially joined the Hornets from South Shields on Friday morning and will compete for the number one shirt with former Blyth Spartans and Gateshead goalkeeper Mark Foden.

Connell won his first Vase when he helped Dunston UTS to a 2-0 win over Northern League rivals West Auckland Town in 2012.

And he added a second Vase winners medal when he was part of the South Shields squad that completed a history-making quadruple with a 4-0 Wembley win against Cleethorpes Town in 2018.

He could make it a hat-trick of Vase wins as he joins the Hornets, who are awaiting confirmation on when their two-legged semi-final against Corinthian FC as the coronavirus epidemic continues to put a hold on the football season.

Hebburn manager Kevin Bolam revealed how much he is looking forward to working with a player he believes can become a ‘great asset’ for the club.

He said: “I'm over the moon to secure the services of Liam at Hebburn.

“I know he's been a target of the club for some time and now the time has presented itself to get the right deal done ahead of the league run in and ahead of the FA Vase semi-finals.

“I've worked with Liam previously when I was part of South Shields Reserves and followed his progress closely, he's a great asset to have at the club, his experience, character and of course quality on the pitch can only help the squad in our season targets but also beyond that.

“Liam will add great competition to Mark and Andy, and it allows me to support the Reserve and Under-23 teams during what has been a goalkeeping crisis we have had with 3 great goalkeepers."

Connell has spent time on loan at Northern League club Whickham and National League North side Darlington during the current season.

And he is looking forward to “some exciting times” after putting pen-to-paper to join the Hornets.

He told the club website: “It’s been a long time coming.

“Hebburn is a fantastic club with some excellent people here.”