PLAYER SPONSORSNEWBROOK'S PREVIEW

Shot-stopper Shaun Newbrook explains Hebburn need a reaction this weekend.

The Hornets, who suffered several injuries and suspensions, were put to the sword last Saturday against Grimsby Borough.

“It was a really bad day,” Newbrook assessed.

“Nothing clicked - it was a bad performance all around with lads in unfamiliar positions.

“We didn’t just have one or two lads missing - it was four or five so it was always going to be a struggle.

“We’ve kept a lot of clean sheets recently and proved hard to beat but everything that could’ve went wrong, went wrong.”

The Hornets received a boost through the week as young goalkeeper Matty Bateman put pen to paper at The Green Energy Sports Ground.

Newbrook previously worked with Bateman in the goalkeeping department at Shildon and hailed the youngster's ability upon the pair's reunion.

“It’s really good to see him,” Newbrook explained.

“He’s a very good player and probably the best keeper in the area for his age.

“His distribution is unbelievable and he’s confident in his own abilityhe trains hard and plays well.

“I think he’s playing at a higher level than most keepers his age and he’s doing really well.

“Training is competitive with all the keepers including Andy [Coulson] and Kieran [Hunter] - we all get on but we all want to play at the end of the day.

“If you’ve got no competition then you’ll get complacentperformance levels drop because you’re not going to lose your place.

“We’ve got several good keepers so they push me to stay at the top of my game and perform well.”

Hebburn face Ossett United at home this afternoon and Newbrook reveals the side are preparing for a battle.

“I think it’ll be a hard game,” previewed Newbrook.

“It’ll be a battle and a physical game but we need to bounce back.

“We need to react quickly and put that Grimsby defeat behind us.”

The Hornets then welcome Seaham Red Star in the Durham Challenge Cup semi-final on Tuesday night (7:30pm kick-off).

Newbrook played for Mark Collingwood's outfit for five years and enjoyed success in winning the Northern League Division Two title.

“It was where I first started playing Northern League,” he recalled.

“I played around 250 games there over five years - it was a great time and we had a very good side.

“We won the second division of the Northern League then quite confidently stayed up.

“We had the likes of Lewis Wing there [now at Wycombe Wanderers] so we had an excellent squad.

“Playing good because he’s one of my best friends outside of football anyway.

“Since I left Seaham, I’ve only faced them two or three times so I’m looking forward to it.

“It’ll be interesting coming up against Colly rather than being on the other side and playing for him.

“Daryll [Donnelly] is still playing there now and their committee was always good with me so it should be a good game.”

Finally, Newbrook rallied the supporters ahead of the two home fixtures this week.

“The support is very big to us,” he said.

“I think everyone who comes along enjoys themselveswe’ve played some good football other than the Grimsby game.

“We need to win more games at home and by doing that, we’ll get more people through the door.

“The next two games are massive and hopefully we can travel to Carlton full of momentum.”