Hebburn Town drawn away to Corinthian FC in FA Vase semi-final

It is just under six months since the Hornets were paired with the Southern Counties League club in the last four of the competition.

However, the coronavirus epidemic has put a hold on the completion of last season’s Vase and looked to have dashed any thoughts of competing for a historic visit to the home of football.

But the Football Association finally confirmed that the competition will be completed with the final taking place at Wembley on Sunday, 27 September.

The governing body also announced that their semi-final ties will be played over one leg and the draw to decide which clubs will host the games was made on Thursday.

Friday afternoon brought confirmation that Hebburn will make the long trip to Kent next Saturday as they look to add their name to the long list of Northern League clubs that have competed in an FA Vase Final.

Hornets boss Kevin Bolam told The Gazette: “Going back to the beginning of the competition, we have travelled ever so well.

“We’ve won three ties away from home at Lower Breck, Vauxhall Motors and Longridge Town.

“I think being on the bus with the lads, or overnight as it will be next weekend, we have used it to our advantage by making sure that the travel doesn’t impact on us.

“You try to be optimistic and hope for a home draw, but we can prove we can dig in and get a result away from home.

“We have to be focused, we have to be organised and we have to look forward to it.”

Attendances for the semi-final will also be limited to 300 as the clubs continue to comply with DCMS and FA advice.

Hebburn’s Northern League Division One rivals Consett will host Western League club Bitton at Belle View in the other semi-final.

A win for both North East clubs would set up the first all-Northern League final since Dunston UTS claimed a 2-0 win against West Auckland Town in 2012.