MATCH PREVIEW: League leaders come to town

After two tough away games, life doesn’t get any easier for Reds with the small matter of the league leaders, Hebburn Town, due at Borough Park on Saturday (3pm).

A top v. bottom clash that could be a one-sided encounter favouring the table toppers, a cracking contest with Reds sneaking that elusive second home win of the season or a share of the spoils and a fourth successive draw. Anything could happen from two teams in good shape.

Daniel Moore’s Hebburn have had a great season and secured top spot-on Tuesday after coming from behind to register their fifteenth league win – a 3-1 success over Whitby Town.

The campaign didn’t start well, though, and they lost their first three matches back in August. By the time they played us in September, they were ‘up and running’ although their 2-1 victory at our expense came via a late deflected goal.

In November, they crushed Warrington Town 8-0 (their record Premier Division win) and that started a sequence of nine consecutive victories.

Gary Martin, already with two hat-tricks under his belt, has been the man receiving the plaudits but the whole team has delivered over their twenty-five matches.

They were the first team to score fifty league goals this term and they hope to be the first to pass the fifty points mark.

They have won six games on their travels so far.

Billy Barr has had another busy week chasing new faces – loans or otherwise – in an attempt to boost numbers, with injuries and a suspension still preventing him selecting from a full squad.

Last season’s meetings produced a win for each side – Reds winning 2-1 here, Town emerging 3-1 winners in the return – but Town also knocked us out of the FA Cup at Borough Park.

And they still hold the bragging rights after their September success on Tyneside.