by Garry Clarke
THE current holders of the Buildbase FA Vase Hebburn Town are the next team trying to knock Warrington Rylands 1906 off the Wembley trail.
Hebburn Town will arrive at Gorsey Lane on Saturday with the trophy safely tucked away in their Tyneside home having defeated fellow Ebac Northern League side Consett 3-2 at Wembley on Monday in the final of the 2019/20 competition.
Hebburn had to twice come from behind in the game held over from last season before Olly Martins scored the winning goal in the second half.
So apart from being the current holders of the FA Vase and a team looking to return to the national stadium in two weeks, the big question is who are Hebburn Town and where have they come from?
Hebburn is a small town dating back to the 8th century on the south bank of the River Tyne situated in between the towns of Jarrow and Gateshead. Originally part of the private Ellison Estate it was made an independent Urban District in 1894. Located in the historic County of Durham in 1974 it became part of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear.
The football club was formed in 1912 as a works team for employees of a local engineering firm A. Reyrolle & Company playing under the company’s name until 1986 when they adopted the name of their town becoming Hebburn Reyrolles before dropping the Reyrolles tag in 1988 and adding the Town suffix to the title in 2000.
Starting life in the Jarrow & District Junior League, Reyrolles played in various local leagues before joining the Northern League’s second division in 1989. Having previously been promoted to the first division three times, and relegated back into the second, they returned to the top flight in 2018 and have since developed into one of the area’s best teams.
In their first season back in Division One, the last season to be completed before Covid19 struck, Hebburn finished second behind Dunstan UTS with 66pts from 34 games. They carried their good form into the two abandoned seasons being 3rd with 62 pts from 31 games when time was called on the 2019/20 season and top of the table in 2020/21 with 33pts from 12 games when the current campaign was halted.
Known as the Hornets, due to their black and yellow colours, they are one of three Northern League clubs to have been invited to apply for promotion to step 4 in the FA’s league restructure which takes place this year.
Hebburn Town will be the fourth team from the Ebac Northern League who Rylands have faced this season in the FA Vase the other three Jarrow, Shildon and West Auckland Town have all been dispatched by the Blues via penalty shoot outs.
Will Hebburn Town be successful in their quest to play at Wembley twice in a month, or will Rylands take another step closer to a first Wembley appearance?
If so will they do it in normal time or will they need penalties again?
Tune in at 3pm on Saturday afternoon to find out because although the game is being played behind closed doors due to government Covid restrictions you can watch the action unfold as the game is being streamed live.
Virtual tickets to view the game priced £5, including donation to St Roccos Hospice, can be purchased by using the link below
Ticketpass.org/event/EXHTOR/warrington-rylands-fc-vs-hebburn-town-fc
Midlands League Premier Division Walsall Wood awaits the victors a week later, Saturday 15th May, in the semi-final for a place in the final. The winners of Rylands v Hebburn will be at home in the semi-final, and still behind closed doors.
The first semi-final is scheduled for this Saturday between United Services Portsmouth (Wessex League First Division) and Binfield (Hellenic League Premier Division).
The Wembley final is scheduled to be held as a doubleheader with the FA Trophy final between Hereford United and Hornchurch on Saturday 22nd May 2021.
In line with the UK Government’s roadmap out of lockdown it is hoped a limited number of spectators will be permitted to attend.
🎉Good Morning Everyone🎉
HEBBURN TOWN FC 2020 FA VASE CHAMPIONS..can we all let that sink in 👏👏👏🖤💛🖤💛🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝 pic.twitter.com/KCTVZkI2Qb
— Hebburn Town FC (@HebburnTown) May 4, 2021
