MORRIS' COLUMN

PLAYER SPONSORSMORRIS' COLUMN

Goalkeeping coach Carl Morris discusses settling into the club and Shaun Newbrook's recent displays.

Morris arrived at The Green Energy Sports Ground alongside Daniel Moore and Mark Hudson from Shildon in the summer. The trio guided The Railwaymen to a play-off spot in the Pitching In Northern Premier League East Division in 2021/22, during their first season in the eighth tier. Since joining Hebburn, The Hornets have improved on a mid-table finish and currently sit third in the league standings. "We've really enjoyed it so far, " stated Morris. “It’s such a well ran family club - the welcome has been that great it’s felt like we’ve been here for years. “I was at Shildon for two

years and we were successful for a number of reasons - one of the main things was because of how defensively solid we were. “We’re off to a good start in the league - we had a really tough pre-season and that’s helped us. “Everyone worked hard, especially the goalkeepers Bobby [Daniel Moore] gives me free reign to get straight to work with them so they’re in the best possible condition. “Of course we brought Shaun Newbrook in but I also inherited a group of young, talented keepers at the club and they’ve all done excellent for me so far. ” Newbrook was Shildon’s number one for four years, but followed his manager to South Tyneside in the off-season. The shot-stopper has made 19 appearances for Hebburn since joining, with five clean sheets and three Hitachi Man of the Match awards. “He’s getting better with age, ” commented the goalkeeping coach. “To be fair, I think we’ve deserved a few more clean sheets for our performances this season. “We had 13 or 14 last season at Shildon and that got us into the play-offs, so that is once again our target. “For me he’s one of, if not, the best goalkeeper in this league - he’s excelling at everything he does at the minute. “He’s phenomenal at shotstopping, even in training, he reads the centre forwards so well. “We tend to play out from the back but he’s also got pinpoint kicking ability,

which is a positive when you have targets like Liam [Hendedson] and Amar [Purewal] upfront. “His experience is valuable as well and filters down to the younger keepers, so he’s massive to us in a number of areas. ” Meanwhile, Andy Coulson returned to Hebburn in September after serving as back-up during the 2020/21 campaign. “We’re pleased to have Andy with us, ” explained Morris. “For a young age, he’s very experienced and I know everyone was really fond of him when he was first at the club. “He’s not just there to make up the numbers either - he’s providing competition and pushing Shaun on. “Not only has he got ability but he’s brought a lot of positivity to the group, and we’ll work him to kick him on. “He played for Pickering Town recently while their keeper was unavailable - we didn’t plan on it but it’s certainly beneficial to play games at that level. " Morris inherited 21-year-old Kieran Hunter, who was a mainstay in the club’s U23 side. The former Sunderland and Gateshead youngster was called upon five times for the first-team last year, and is currently on a dualregistration deal at Chesterle-Street Town. “That deal was something we wanted to do, ” said Morris. “He had a few offers in the summer but nothing quite materialised so he carried on playing for the U23s. “When we came into the

club, I was told about his ability and he lived up to expectations in pre-season, we were really impressed. “He’s a quiet lad so going to a Northern League club will get him used to a new dressing room and bring him out of his shell. “He’s playing every week for Chester-le-Street and we watched one of his games, he looks so comfortable. “He’s got a bright future ahead and like Andy, gaining match experience will be brilliant for him. ”