FA Cup Preview: Hebburn Town (h)
Our 2024/25 FA Cup journey commences this weekend, as we welcome seventh tier outfit Hebburn Town to CH1.
The prize for the victor will be a place in the third qualifying round of the prestigious competition and Calum McIntyre and his players will be hoping to emulate or even improve on their domestic success from last season.
The Seals were desperately close to reaching the second round proper as they were narrowly defeated by National League side York City in a replay.
The original tie resulted in a 0-0 stalemate at the Deva stadium, with the Blues frustrating their fifth tier opponents by rendering them to very little clear-cut chances.
The replay at the York Community stadium saw the Minstermen race into a two goal lead through a Lennell John-Lewis brace, but our captain George Glendon halved the deficit with a ruthless finish after being skilfully played through by an incisive Harrison Burke pass with the outside of his foot.
Despite the equaliser proving to be elusive, subsequently resulting in exit from the competition, the players made the fans and club immensely proud.
THE OPPOSITION
Hebburn Town currently sit in third place in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, only three points behind Robbie Savage’s Macclesfield who occupy top spot.
The Hornets earned promotion into the seventh tier last campaign by being crowned Champions of the Northern Premier League Division One East.
The team hailing from Tyne and Wear have enjoyed a successful spell over the last five years, as they also lifted the 2019/20 edition of the FA Vase, but bizarrely played the final in May 2021 due to the pandemic.
Olly Martin’s dramatic winner was the decisive goal in their 3-2 win over their North East counterparts Consett at Wembley.
THE GAFFER
Daniel Moore has been in the dugout at the Hebburn Sports and Social ground since the beginning of the 2022/23 season.
As a player, Moore’s biggest achievement was captaining Spennymoor Town to the FA Vase final. The Moors lifted the trophy at Wembley, but Moore was unfortunately injured for the final at the hallowed turf.
The former defender then made almost 500 appearances for Shildon FC and was named player manager in 2017. He guided the Shells to promotion alongside his current employers in 2020/21.
ONE TO WATCH
Paul Van Zandliet had a dream debut as he received the Player of the Match accolade for his performance against Bamber Bridge.
The industrious midfielder signed last week from Ashington and he scored his new club’s second goal in their 5-1 rout against Brig.
Prior to his spell at Woodhorn Lane, the 23-year-old spent five years at North Shields where he made almost a century of appearances for the Robins.
FORM GUIDE
Chester FC | W4 D2 L2 | F12 A9 | Pos: 4th
Last Three
Peterborough Sports (H) | W 3-0 | Scorers: Charlie Caton, Harrison Burke, Tom Peers
Kidderminster Harriers (A) | D 1-1 | Scorers: Charlie Caton
South Shields (H) | W 1-0 | Scorers: Tom Peers
Hebburn Town | W5 D2 L1 | F13 A5 GD: +8 | Pos: 3rd (Northern Premier Division)
Last Three
Workington (A) | L 2-1 | Scorers: Bailey Adamson
Bamber Bridge (H) | W 5-1 | Scorers: Amar Purewal x2, Jack Donaghy, Paul Van Zandvliet, Olly Martin
Morpeth Town (A) | D 0-0 | Scorers: N/A
Match Preview by Jude Deedigan
MATCH DETAILS
Kick off is 3pm at The Deva Stadium on Saturday. The postcode for the ground is CH1 4LT.
MATCHDAY INFORMATION
For information on Admission Prices, Entry into the Stadium, Payment Methods, Allocated Seating and much more – visit chesterfc.com/matchdayinformation.
Tickets: Available online – CLICK HERE! Contactless card payments are available at the turnstile, with cash payments available at the Ticket Office.
The GWG street food van is unfortunately unavailable this weekend outside the ground. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
In its absence, Kiosk 8 (East Stand nearest to the Harry Mac) will be open from 1pm serving food and drink with access through the yellow exit doors. Please note, there is no access to the Stadium until 2pm.
Ginger Cat Coffee will be on hand outside the ground providing their usual excellent selection of hot drinks and iced coffees!
The Cestrian Bar will be open from midday on Saturday, until kick off and then post match, full stocked with a full selection of alcohol and soft drinks as well as showing all of the action.
Inside the ground, the Kiosks will be serving their wider variety of pies during the new campaign, including Cottage Pies!
Matchday Programmes will be available to purchase from the Club Shop and our volunteer sellers around the ground, costing £3. If you are unable to get a programme on the day, they are available to buy online – CLICK HERE.
MATCHDAY COVERAGE
Free commentary on Seals Live via our Match Centre: CLICK HERE
Match Updates on our Twitter/X page: CLICK HERE
HT/FT Updates on Facebook and Instagram: CLICK HERE
A full time match report on ChesterFC.com: CLICK HERE