Hebburn Town 1-1 (5-4 on pens) Spennymoor Town, Wednesday 3rd May 2023

Hebburn Town 1-1 (5-4 pens) Spennymoor Town, Durham Challenge Cup Final, Stadium of Light, att. 2,165

The non-league season is coming to a close and for most teams their season is over. This includes the National League North and Northern Premier League East, tiers 6 and 8 of the pyramid and the leagues of tonite’s opponents, Spennymoor Town and Hebburn Town. Having lost their play-off semi, it’s Hebburn’s last chance at glory, while for Spennymoor, it’s been a frustrating season. Play-off hopes, long since extinguished, were re-ignited at season’s end with a run of late form, before the fixtures ran out. Thus, Spennymoor are favourites this evening, though star forward Taylor is missing.

The Durham Challenge Cup is contested by every side in County Durham, or the traditional boundaries thereof; in other words, all the teams inbetween the Tyne and Tees. North of the Tyne is Northumberland, south of the Tees is the North Riding (Yorkshire). In theory, the competition should be a shoe-in for the likes of Sunderland, but given their superiority, they enter an Under 23 side, or, like this season, not at all. Oh well, their loss. And at least they’ve offered up their Stadium of Light for the final.

With 48,000 seats, I didn’t foresee any trouble getting a ticket….till I checked online on matchday. No cash turnstiles. Or card turnstiles for that matter. Unless you’d bought an advance ticket via Hebburn or Spenny, you had to have a Sunderland AFC ticket account and buy online. I can imagine how many Newcastle fans (for they do sadly exist in County Durham) would do that. The stadium itself was cashless, as the Durham FA programme sellers found when they went hunting for change. I’d have to come back later for a programme. ‘Maybe you’ll learn for next year?’

Only one side of the ground was open, the West Stand, and only the lower tier of that. It was more than enough. With the black and yellow of Hebburn to my left and the black and white of Spenny to my right, I sat on the halfway line a distance from anyone. As much as Spenny are my local team, there’s just something about black and white stripes I can’t altogether get along with. Still, it was probably as many of those patterned shirts as there’s ever been in Sunderland’s main stand.

I was bloody freezing. I thought summer was coming? Well, not in an evening game in Sunderland in early May, too close to the coast for comfort and a wind that somehow howled within a completely enclosed stadium. The fayre was generally poor too, with little in the way of goalmouth excitement. Spenny nicked one before half-time when Ramshaw turned in on the near post. Surely they’d now canter to victory?

Second half, I moved to be among the black and white. Like the penguins of shared colour, it was mainly for reasons of warmth. Only my determination to see full-time made me stay….and I was unrewarded with a Hebburn equaliser with 5 minutes to go. Purewal (who’d been playing for phoenix club Darlington 1883 a decade earlier in the Northern League) headed in from a corner. Did that mean extra time? I checked the programme. Why would it tell us such crucial info? Fans around me wondered the same. Thankfully, thankfully, it went to pens, Hebburn emerging victorious, just as they had in their semi final. So at least I got a penalty shootout. I always enjoy a penalty shootout. And for the first time in 31 years, the trophy was Hebburn’s. Well done The Hornets!

The Damage:
£10 Ent
£1 programme
= £11

Hebburn Town 1-4 Stockton Town, Saturday 11th December 2021

Hebburn Town 1-4 Stockton Town, Northern Premier League East, Hebburn Sports and Social Ground, att. 367

You can’t beat a double header, and once I’d realised Hebburn were kicking off at 1pm and South Shields were at home at 3, my mind was made up. Hebburn, south side of the Tyne and inbetween Gateshead and South Shields are in their 1st season of playing in the Northern Premier League East division following their promotion from the Northern League. Opponents Stockton are on an identical path, though they’re making a better fist of the new league, challenging for a place in the top 4 while the homesters are lower midtable. A season of consolidation, then.

After the recent Storm Arwen in the North-East, Hebburn’s ground could do with some consolidation, as blown down wooden fences were propped up behind the main stand, and surrounding garden fences were flattened. Otherwise, it’s a smart stadium, albeit one with only 3 floodlights. Is that why they’re kicking off at 1pm? The main stand, on the far touchline from the main entrance, is a lower division version of rail seating, as one can sit down, or stand up and lean on the railing. I felt sorry for the one (old) guy who obviously wanted to sit down while all around stood up.

Not that there’s a shortage of seating at the Hebburn Sports and Social Ground (catchy!) Either side of the Main Stand are 2 open stands of seating, 50 or so seats in each, while there’s more open seating behind the goal. Judging by the cheers for the goals, away fans heavily outnumbered Hebburn on these two sides. The nearside touchline, the one with the managers’ dugouts, had a long line of fans, while behind was another football pitch. Presumably, the ‘Sports Ground’ incorporated cricket back in the day, though they’d have to pull up the touchline paving to do it now. Feasible though…(not sure about the pressbox, on the halfway line)

The far goal had a small roofed structure but nobody to stand in it. Why walk 100 metres to stand on your own when you can take pride of place on the 1st floor balcony of the sports club which overlooked the pitch? It was certainly busy up here, as the locals quaffed their beer and enjoyed the view. The sports club was tremendous, more pub than non-league social club. There were too many in here too enjoying a beer, the warmth…and Man City live in a Premiership game. I get that – but if you’ve paid to see Hebburn v Stockton, watch Hebburn v Stockton.

There were certainly more goals than Man City’s solitary effort, yet another controversial penalty decision from VAR. (Since when is an armpit ‘handball’?) Stockton ran out 4-1 winners. Sounds like a mauling, but it had me hooked till the end, when the Anchors broke away to finally kill the home team off. Leaving earlier would’ve cost me a goal…but saved me 2. By the time I got to South Shields, 3 miles or so away, I’d missed an opener for either side.

The Damage:
£7 ent
= £7

The Tunes:
BBC5Live

West Auckland 1-3 Hebburn Town, Saturday 24th July 2021

West Auckland 1-3 Hebburn Town, JW Cleator Cup, The Wanted Stadium AKA Darlington Road, att. 271

As soon as this fixture was announced, I was going to it. I’d not seen a game at West Auckland’s Darlington Road before, and what with their unique history I was determined to put that right. A famous old name in north-east non-league football, West are famed for winning the 1st World Cup – an international invitational event in Turin, where, in 1909 and 1911 a bunch of coalminers beat the likes of Juventus (1911). And not by the odd goal, either – they beat Juve 6-1!

Fast forward over a hundred years and West are playing in the annual Northern League season opener, the Cleator Cup, traditionally played between the winners of the league and league cup. Of course, this being the Age of Coronavirus, it’s slightly different. It’s the leaders of the league last season when the season was expunged (Hebburn) against the last team to win the league cup, 2 years ago, West Auckland.

I expected a busy crowd. Football fans have been denied live action for months. Indeed, the night before, Newcastle took 3,000 fans to Doncaster for a friendly. So I was disappointed at a crowd of roughly 180 (official figure: 271. Where were they all? The social club?). I wasn’t the only one, as I overheard a couple of older chaps in front of me discussing same. I thought I recognised one – it turned out to be former World Cup referee and Northern League chairman, George Courtney!

I remember nearly 40 years ago he refereed one of my games, as the school he was headmaster of (Ox Close, Spennymoor) lost to the mighty Broom Cottages (Ferryhill). Actually, I can’t remember who won, but I do recall him describing their pitch as ‘looking like Wembley’. It was, indeed, a very good pitch. Later on, my dad and I would receive complimentary tickets to games he’d referee our side Barnsley, as my dad knew his mum. Reds fans will be surprised to learn he awarded us 2 penalties in one game. I say surprised, as their view is blighted by an appalling decision not to send off John McClelland in a cup game at Dirty Leeds. George obviously hadn’t received the recent memo re: sending off the last man. Mind, we never had tickets for that game.

Darlington Road, or ‘The Wanted Stadium’ is just behind the front street and is a simple, but grand little ground. As you come through the turnstiles at one corner, a raised terrace of a couple of steps lies behind the goal. On the far side is the social club, which looked a decent size but I never went in. Adjacent is a small covered terrace and next to this is the Main Stand. Both structures were resplendent in black and amber.

The other 2 sides were enclosed, but had no terracing. Near the corner flag a mobile refreshment vehicle did brisk business. Looking at the boundary wall gave an idea of the incline of the pitch, or, as I heard one elder say ‘it slopes in 4 different directions’. This was hard to disagree with, looking at the pitch. It was a wonder the players could keep control of the ball, given the surface.

It was a good game, with Hebburn (newly promoted to the Northern Premier League Division 1 East on the back of the last 2 incomplete seasons) always edging it, despite going behind. West put in a cross and although the defender was only a yard or two away, his raised arm made a penalty decision easy. 1-0 half-time, but within 10 minutes of the second half starting, it was 1-2, the second a well struck free kick. A late goal sealed the game, pleasing the Hebburn contingent in the Main Stand who I was sat near. Let’s just say one woman made some noise!

Afterwards, George Courtney led the presentation of the trophy, wishing Hebburn all the best in their new venture, sorry to see them leave the Northern League…but there’d always be space for them should they wish to return (as often happens with these ‘ambitious’ teams). Oddly, despite being members of the Northern League since 1989, they go up having never won the league. Perhaps last season was their chance.

The Damage:
£6 ent
= £6

The Tunes:
BBC6 Music (Jamz Supernova / Gilles Peterson)