It's 2nd vs 3rd at Hebburn Sports Ground on Tuesday evening. Dunston will be looking to put Saturday's defeat against Carlton behind them and get back to winning ways against the in-form Hebburn Town.

It was a frustrating one on Saturday as some dubious refereeing decisions arguably spoiled the game between two good sides. Dunston went ahead early on after a Daniel Brown own goal. Jude Swailes then put the ball into his own net as Carlton levelled the game on 44 minutes. A controversial penalty decision in Dunston's favour led to Dale Pearson firing Dunston into the lead at half-time. 

Carlton equalised through their own penalty six minutes into the second half. Another questionable decision, but Alex Hardwick scored from the spot. Hardwick somehow escaped a red card 10 minutes later for a deliberate elbow before Carlton stole all the points through Nat Watson in the 90th minute. Dunston drop to 3rd place on 58 points.

THE OPPONENTS

Hebburn Town secured a vital win on Saturday away at Brighouse which saw them climb above Dunston in the league table. Arron Thompson put The Hornets ahead on 39 minutes, before Robbie Spence wrapped up the win 15 minutes from time.

Hebburn are currently top of the form table having picked up an impressive 16 points from their last six games, scoring 18 goals. They have also kept four consecutive clean sheets. They sit two points ahead of Dunston having played one game more. Tuesday's meeting between the two sides could not be set up any better.

RECENT GAMES

The last three meetings between the sides have been close encounters, with Hebburn having the better of the recent results. Earlier in the season, an Amar Purewal header gave The Hornets a 1-0 win at The UTS Stadium. Last season at The UTS Stadium, it was also 1-0 to Hebburn with Amar Purewal again scoring the only goal.

The meeting between the two sides at Hebburn Sports Ground last season ended in a 1-1 draw. Jon Shaw was dismissed for Dunston midway through the first half, however Dale Pearson fired Dunston ahead just before half-time. Liam Murray equalised for the hosts shortly after the break.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

Hebburn boss Daniel Moore spoke after their 2-0 win away at Brighouse on Saturday ahead of Tuesday night's fixture:

"We know what kind of game it's going to be. They are a very good side. They are where they are because they deserve to be. They are very dangerous going forward so we are going to have to defend even better than we have done in recent weeks.

"It's a good game for the North East. I'm looking forward to it. The lads are enjoying what they're doing at the moment and long may it continue because they have been outstanding the last few weeks."

WHAT WE'RE SAYING

Jon McDonald also spoke on Saturday ahead of Tuesday's fixture against local rivals, Hebburn Town:

"It'll be a tough game. They've won today and both teams are in the play-offs. It's a local derby so I think it promises to be a really good game. Hopefully there is a lot of people through the gate to come and watch this one.

"Just to put it into perspective, we've lost twice in 19 games and we've played five of our home fixtures away from home which represents a quarter of our home fixtures. Obviously, we are all disappointed that we've lost today, but context, the lads have been fantastic against the odds, with adversity, playing our home fixtures away, they've been brilliant."

MATCH INFORMATION

It's a 7:45pm kick-off at Hebburn Sports Ground, NE31 1UN. (Tuesday March 26th)

Tickets are available on the turnstiles via either cash or card.

Adults (£8), Concessions (£6), U16 (£2), U12 (FREE)