FA Vase final 2019-20: Hebburn Town beat Consett 3-2 to lift trophy at Wembley

Ollie MartinImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Ollie Martin came off the bench to snatch the winner for Hebburn

Substitute Ollie Martin's late winner secured a first FA Vase final success for Hebburn Town against Northern League rivals Consett at Wembley.

The Hornets twice came from behind in a first half which saw Consett's Jake Orrell taken off with a head injury.

Hebburn came out after the break with renewed enthusiasm, and might have led had Graeme Armstrong not scuffed wide.

Consett had chances which Calvin Smith and Luke Carr failed to take, and it proved key as Martin pounced late on.

The two sides had to wait eight months to complete the showpiece of last season's Vase, and it took a late finish to separate them.

Orrell's withdrawal on a stretcher following a collision was the only sour note to a final which was played in great spirit between two north-east rivals - and an encounter which again showed the strength of north-east football's non-league set-up.

Much of the pre-match talk centred around twin brothers Amar and Arjun Purewal playing against each other for Hebburn and Consett respectively.

In the event it was Amar's day, as he not only cancelled out Ali Alshabeeb's cutely taken opener with his own calm finish to level, but also finished on the winning side.

Michael Richardson, a winner with South Shields in 2017, played another key role for Hebburn by slotting in the second equaliser after Dale Pearson had netted for the Steelmen at the other end moments before.

Kevin Bolam's Hebburn are still on course for Wembley in this season's competition with a quarter-final against Rylands on Saturday, 8 May.

Hebburn boss Kevin Bolam told BBC Radio Newcastle:

"I've seen this team see out games the past two rounds of this season's Vase, against Congleton and the tie before against Liversedge.

"The message at halftime was to get our noses in front and see the reaction of the opposition was obviously a bonus and to score late was a bonus.

"Ollie was very close to starting the game, when I spoke to him last night he was first class and understanding, we told him he'd be a massive change off the bench. He's come up with the goal."

Consett boss Terry Mitchell told BBC Radio Newcastle:

"I told the lads they could be proud. We applauded them when they won the cup, and we've lost with grace.

"We went in there and played our football and they couldn't get near us in the first half, we conceded a couple of goals and hit the bar but we dominated the ball and played well.

"We didn't continue that in the second-half. And we were so naive - does the occasion get to them? If only we'd settled down and got compact after we scored our goals."

Hebburn: Foden, Groves, Lough, Spence, Storey, Carson, Potter, McKeown, Armstrong, Richardson, Purewal

Subs: Hunter, Martin, Donaghy, Taylor, Hudson, Mullen, Eleftheriadis

Consett: Hayes, Metz, Holden, Slocombe, Purewal, Wilkinson, Orrell, Smith, Pearson, Cornish, Alshabeeb

Subs: Wilson, Carr, Allen, Marriott, Jacab, Russell, Lawson

Referee: Michael Salisbury

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