Match Report:

Hebburn Town (Away) | Saturday 14th August 2010 3pm | FA Preliminary Round | Result 1 - 1 (Draw)

Marske made one change in personnel to the team that surrendered so easily to Washington, as well as make a change in formation.  Neil Waterfield made his Marske debut in defence as Josh Myers pushed forward to replace the injured Anthony Ormerod.

The team also switched to a more suited 4-4-2 formation.  Hebburn made two changes from the team that drew 1-1 at the GER Stadium seven days earlier.

Both teams attacked from the off.  Adam Gell forced a corner for Marske after only 20 seconds, but Hebburn created the first chance under a minute later as Daniel Gray headed Andrew Grant-Soulsby’s cross wide from eight yards.

Hebburn were gifted a chance after three minutes when goalkeeper Danny Dixon threw the ball straight out to Chris Scott, but the midfielder couldn’t find the target with a quickly taken shot from distance.

Marske’s first proper chance came on nine minutes as Gell latched onto a Micky Dalton through ball, but Andy Hunter saved his shot well.

Hebburn were constantly trying to catch Marske on the break by playing diagonal balls across the midfield with the two wingers looking to get behind each full back, and Mark Taylor and Neil Waterfield had to be quick to track across on several occasions.

Town came close to opening the scoring on 28 minutes as Scott blasted a shot from distance into the Marske side netting.

The breakthrough finally came for the home side after 36 minutes when an innocuous pass back to Dixon was miss controlled by the keeper, resulting in a corner.  Things then went from bad to worse for him as he came out to claim the cross and let the ball slip through his hands into the back of the net.

Hebburn went in search of a second before the break as Marske posed little threat going forward, and the back four had to be on their toes to keep the Town front line at bay.

Half-time:  Hebburn Town 1v0 Marske United

Two minutes into the second half the Marske defence was cut open down the left hand side as Scott played a clever one-two with Marc Brocklehurst but hit his shot against the post from an acute angle.

Things needed to change, and stand-in manager Mark Riley was quick to replace Josh Myers with Owen Dixon as Gell tucked inside.

Dixon made an immediate impact on the game as his very first touch took him past Paul Catto, and he was able to make up ground and pick out Jones inside the Hebburn penalty area.  Jones still found time for his customary step over and trick, before firing the equaliser into the roof of the net.

The goal lifted Marske and they were soon in search of more but were constantly thwarted by the offside flag.

Jones got into a good position in the Hebburn penalty area on 65 minutes but refused to pick out a pass and was eventually dispossessed.

Dale Mendum came off the bench to make his Marske United debut on 67 minutes, and as time ticked away, the game became stretched.

Marske were hit on the counter attack by an intelligent diagonal ball out left for Scott to chase after, but Dixon came quickly off his line to beat the midfielder to it on the corner of the box.

Mendum had a shot deflected wide for a corner with three minutes left, and in the final minute Marske gave away possession cheaply from a throw-in deep in the Hebburn half, allowing Michael Armstrong to get on the end of a quick break and try to round Dixon.  The striker was brought down in the box, but with almost the final kick of the game, Hebburn had the spot kick saved by Dixon who made amends for his earlier blunder.

Full-time:  Hebburn Town 1v1 Marske United

After a poor showing in the first half, Marske worked hard to get back into it after the break but almost let it slip at the death.  Continued improvement in Wednesday’s replay could result in a bus trip to Armthorpe, who saw off Guisborough 3-0 at the KGV.

Teams: 

Hebburn Town:  Hunter, Grant-Soulsby, Catto, Blemings (Pendergood), Hall, Brocklehurst, C.Scott, Myers, McCartney (Armstrong), Gray, N.Scott.  Not Used:  Crew, Errington, Duncan.

Marske United:  D.Dixon, Donachie (Morris), Gamble, Dalton, Waterfield, Taylor, Bradley (Mendum), Myers (O.Dixon), Brunskill, Jones, Gell.  Not Used:  Seaton, Wood, Roberts.