The Hornets' unbeaten streak of thirteen matches came to an end at the hands of
Ossett United on Tuesday night at the Sportsy, as Adam Priestley's second half penalty denied them the chance to secure the Northern Premier League East Division title.

Daniel Moore made just one change from the win over Belper Town, Aidan Heywood was only fit enough for the bench, therefore Joe Walton returned from suspension and took his place in the starting eleven.

From the start, the hosts were on the front foot as they knew the task ahead of them on what was a big night for the club.

Early penalty shouts arrived inside the first three minutes as Dean Briggs appeared to go down in the box due to a challenge from the Ossett defender, but Connor Scott, the referee waved play on.

In the seventh minute, a chance arose for the visitors to go ahead. Priestley found himself one-on-one with Kieran Hunter, but the goalkeeper was able to block with his leg.

It was a frantic opening fifteen from Hebburn as passes were going astray and they struggled to get a grip on the match.

Olly Martin drove towards his full-back, played a pass towards Briggs who then cut inside onto his right-foot and tried a curling effort into the far corner, but the shot was saved by Callum Hiddleston.

Liam Noble then whipped a cross towards Amar Purewal in the box, but he failed to keep his header down and the ball sailed over the crossbar.

The opportunities continued for the Hornets towards the half hour mark. Walton's cross found Robbie Spence, but he could only divert his header wide of the post.

Then Noble floated the ball over the top of the Ossett defence and Purewal ran onto it, he tried to round the goalkeeper and could only find the side-netting from a tight angle. A big opportunity that went begging for the home side!

Both sides were pushing for the opening goal towards the break but the defences remained on top.

The hosts were then awarded a penalty in first half stoppage time! Purewal stepped up and tried to find the far left of the goal, but Hiddleston got down well to claw away. The referee then blew for half-time, bringing a halt to a cagey forty-five minutes.

After the break, Ossett took a surprise lead! A penalty was given and Priestley struck into the bottom-left corner! Hunter dived the correct way but was unable to keep it out.

Hebburn knew they needed to respond and soon. Five minutes later, in the 54th minute, Briggs' cross evaded everyone at the back post and went out for a goal kick.

The hosts kept on pushing for an equaliser and in the 60th minute Noble tried his luck from twenty-five yards but failed to trouble Hiddleston.

The Hornets' first change came on the hour mark as Liam Murray replaced Arron Thompson. Instantly, Murray found space in the Ossett half and drove forward before laying the ball off to Dan Groves, but his effort went wide of the post.

The first booking of the night came in the 66th minute! Tom Claisse fouled Noble and faced the consequences for his actions. The resulting free kick from Noble lacked quality and failed to find a man in yellow and black. Whilst the ball was sent into the area, Spence felt he had been fouled, but the referee immediately waved it away.

With twenty minutes to go, the Hornets were desperate to find that all important goal to level the game and continued to throw the kitchen sink at the Ossett defence.

Noble's cross was met by Murray in the centre who brought the ball down beautifully, spun onto his left foot but the goalkeeper met his shot with ease.

You could see the visitors' game plan was starting to frustrate Hebburn and they opted for yet another change. Moore brought himself on for Groves and that resulted in a formation change as he went up front alongside Purewal to give the hosts an extra body in attack.

As the clock went into the final ten, Murray worked wonders and surged past the Ossett defenders, forcing another corner for his side.

The visitors stayed defensively sound and continued to clear everything that was thrown at them.

Hebburn's final change came in the 87th minute, a tired Noble was substituted and a fresh-legged Leo Robinson came into the action as the hosts looked for a spark towards the end.

Ossett's first and only substitution came in the 90th minute as Shane Killock replaced Sam Tingle.

Despite the resilience shown from the hosts, they were unable to find a goal and the referee blew his whistle.

There were jubilant full-time scenes from the away side as the three points secured their safety for at least another season, whilst the home side were left frustrated after failing to convert throughout the night.

The result means the title-fight will go down to the final day, the Hornets travel to Sheffield knowing a win will crown them Northern Premier League East Division champions.

Man of the Match: Jack Donaghy

Match Attendance: 1,224