Results

Hebburn Sports & Social Ground – Ebac Northern League Division 1.

Attendance – 145.

Captain Jeff Forsyth with mascot Jamie Hagen prepares for the coin flip.

Hebburn Town slumped to a third consecutive Northern League Division 1 defeat as Dunston, last season’s FA Vase winner, left South Tyneside with all three points following a comprehensive victory that leaves the Hornets in eleventh place.

After a decent opening twenty minutes by the Hornets, during which they could have taken the lead were it not for Tony Stephenson losing his footing as Stuart Nicholson’s cross found him with an open goal at his mercy, the tide certainly flowed in Dunston’s favour who then controlled the game.

Michael Dixon thought he had given Dunston the lead when he nodded in Terry Galbraith’s right sided corner but the referee whistled for a push inside the box and awarded Hebburn a free-kick.

The visitors did go in at half-time with a lead. Inevitably it was the Dunston dangerman Andrew Bulford who notched. After 41 minutes, Lee McAndrew skipped down the left and eluded Andy Brown, making his Hebburn debut after signing from Durham City. McAndrew’s low, flat, cross found Bulford at the back post and he finished high past Dan Regan.

Dunston doubled their lead on the hour mark. Bulford broke clear arced a pass across the box to his strike partner Lewis Teasdale. Aiming to fire the ball across Regan, Teasdale scuffed his shot and the ball slipped backwards to the edge of the box where Dale Burrell was waiting to fire in.

Hebburn struggled to really threaten Dunston’s goal, and afforded the visitors too much space in midfield. Other than Nicholson’s snap volley after 70 minutes aside that was well saved, the hosts didn’t exert too much pressure on Liam O’Connell in the Dunston goal.

With four minutes remaining , Bulford tricked his way into the Hebburn box and went down following a shirt tug from Chris Jewels. Galbraith sweetly struck the ball low to Regan’s left to give the ‘keeper no chance and to extend Dunston’s winning margin and sent his team above Hebburn in the league table.

Mascot Jamie Hagen with Dean Nicholson.