Spartans take on local side Hebburn Town tomorrow afternoon, with Mick’s side looking to secure a victory and send the Spartans faithful home happy with 3 points for Christmas.
In their first season in this league after winning the Pitching In Northern Premier League First Division East last season, Hebburn have surprised a fair few people this season while currently being sat in 8th spot in the Pitching in Northern Premier League Premier Division.
Having lost their last 3 games in bounce, Hebburn will no doubt be looking to bounce back and snatch a victory right before Christmas to ensure they stay in the hunt for a play off spot.
Experienced forward Amar Purewal has hit the ground running this season, notching up 11 goals in all competitions. A physical striker and a natural finisher, Amar will certainly be a thorn in Spartans side tomorrow – like he has been so many times over the years.
Winger Olly Martin has been another one that’s hit the ground running this season, scoring 8 goals in all competitions from the left flank. Capable of cutting in and causing havoc while also taking the ball down the flank and whipping a cross in, Martin has really established himself as one of the best North East based players in this league this season.
Hebburn also have young forward Bailey Adamson in their ranks, who joined The Hornets late in pre-season following a brief spell on trial with Spartans. Tall, pacey and confident I felt. Of goal, Adamson has bagged 6 goals thus far this season – with a lot of his playing time coming from the bench.
Further back in midfield, the experienced and well known Liam Noble is an extremely popular figure among many in the local non-league scene. Young playmaker Aaron Thompson is another one who’ll give the Spartans defence a tough time, as will overlapping full back Aidan Heywood.
Young goalkeeper Kieran Hunter is one best prospects about at the moment, and he likely have the experienced former Spartan Matty Elsdon in front of him. Jack Donaghy will also likely partner him at the back.
As well as a solid team, they have one of the best young managers in the region in Daniel Moore. Racking up a 59% win rate at Shildon across an impressive 223 games, he also led them to the Cleater Cup and Durham Challenge Cup. Promotion would follow in 2021, before he left for Hebburn in 2022.
Winning promotion at the second time of asking after losing out in the play offs last year, Moore will no doubt be on the radar of times higher up the pyramid following Hebburn’s successful start to the season.
Former Spartans Joao Gomes and Dan Savage have also recently joined Hebburn on loan, and will both likely feature in some capacity tomorrow afternoon.
As confirmed by the club earlier, both Nicky Deverdics and JJ Hooper will miss tomorrow’s local derby.
Midfielder Connor Pani returns to the side, which gives Mick a bit of a selection headache with him, Dean Briggs, Shay Richardson, Billy Gordon, Zach Simpson and others to potentially chose from in the centre of the park.
As well as the departures of Michael Woods to Scarborough, Isiah Cornet and Joseph Abrahart left the club late last week. They were followed by Michael Hogan earlier this week, who joined Ashington on a month long loan.
Little needs to be said to sell Hebburn, as it’s class. The bar and the subsequent terrace is one of the best around in respect of this league, and the NE in general.
The pints are cheap enough and the locals have always been rather welcoming, which is unusual for South Tyneside. The bait hut just outside the clubhouse is top notch as well, so it’s definitely worth arriving early for some scran and a few pints.
Getting there via public transport is simple enough (in theory). Jump on the 308 or 309 to Whitley Bay and then the Metro will take you more or less straight there (provided there are no leaves on the track). Do bear in mind though, you will be required to jump off and get on a replacement bus due to the flyover being closed, which for some reason is effecting the metro?
The walk from the metro station to the ground is only about 10 mins, provided you don’t stop at the pub on the way to ground!
If you’re driving up, the A19 and through the tunnel is probably your best bet. Do remember though that it is down to one lane due to work being done on it, so leaving it late and trying to arrive for 3pm isn’t advisable.
Please also note that you will struggle to get parked if you arrive after 2:30pm, as the club has limited parking spaces, and the locals don’t take too kindly people parking in front of their houses/driveways.
For those of you on the bus tomorrow, a reminder that we’re leaving from The Wallaw at 12:30pm. However we’ll be in early (probably from 10am?) for a few pints, so you’re welcome to come down fairly early for a festive drink and a late breakfast.
For pick ups for tomorrow we’ll only be doing Blyth and High Pit, as we have nobody from Delaval to collect tomorrow.
As for admission prices, they’ll be as follows – and they take card or cash on the gate. They do have a ticket website, but it’s not the best.
Adults – £10
Concessions – £8
12-16 – £2
With a 1,000+ crowd expected, the turnstiles will likely be rammed from 2:30pm onwards, so again we’d advise arriving as early as you can. Please also note that no segregation will be in place for this game.
Safe travels to anyone venturing over to the dark side of the water! Hopefully we’ll see some of you for a pint beforehand and enjoy a good performance and witness Mick’s side snatch the points!
