Dunston UTS and Hebburn Town relishing all-North East FA Trophy tie

Dunston UTS are fully motivated in their bid to cause an FA Trophy upset and send North East neighbours Hebburn Town out of the competition on Friday night.

There is a feeling of anything could happen in a battle of two former Ebac Northern League clubs looking to reach the second round for the first time in their history and Dunston will be boosted by their surprise win against Warrington Rylands in the previous round.

However, McDonald’s currently sit in mid-table in the Northern Premier League East Division after struggling to find inconsistency this season and will have to raise their game if they are to claim yet another win on their home patch and secure a spot in Monday’s draw.

For former North Shields and West Allotment Celtic manager McDonald, the size of the challenge that awaits them is all too clear – but he insisted the win against Rylands in the previous round shows his side can not be underestimated.

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Motivation

He told The NLP: “We know the size of the task on Friday.  

“We know Hebburn are a strong side, and we know they are more than holding their own in the league above – but we’ve been here before.

“We knocked out a strong Warrington Rylands side in the last round and we didn’t do it by luck, we earned it. 

“This is a local derby too, so we don’t need any extra motivation. We are in good form, so we are hugely looking forward to the challenge on our own patch.  

“Hebburn have done well since being promoted from our division; they’ve been astute with their recruitment.

“We know what to expect from Bobby’s teams, but it’s a game we are relishing.”

Exciting

Hebburn manager Daniel Moore is anticipating an impressive crowd as the two North East rivals go head-to-head at the UTS Stadium.

With both sides keen to play on the front foot, the Hornets boss believes those who are in attendance will receive value for money with an entertaining affair.

The Hornets boss said: “It’s a good tie and we always get away ties anyway so it’s nice to have one when it’s not miles away.

“It’s a great game for the North East and we know Dunston deserve to be in our division after what happened in the last couple of years, so it’s clearly going to be a great game between two strong sides.

Hebburn Town celebrate (photo Tyler Lopes)

Exciting

“When we were asked about the Friday, I said yes straightaway because it’ll be good to get a decent crowd in there.  

“We have been performing well, scoring goals and conceding and they could say the same thing, so it should be a great game between two sides that like to attacking.

“It’ll be exciting for the neutral and hopefully we put on a bit of a performance.”

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