Hebburn manager Paul Bennett said that his players were magnificent as their FA Cup run gloriously ended in the last qualifying round at Gateshead’s International stadium.

The second division side, one of the lowest ranked teams left in the competition, were beaten 3-0, but they gave their full time Conference opponents some anxious moments before they fell behind in the second half.

Bennett said: “The players were fantastic. They kept working hard and didn’t allow Gateshead many chances. We didn’t concede early on which was important, and our game plan was to frustrate them.

“The first goal was crucial, and when they scored it, our legs went a bit. If we’d scored, maybe we’d have got more adrenaline. We must replicate our cup form in the league now.”

Jon Shaw headed Gateshead into the lead on 55 minutes from a Craig Baxter cross, then he scored another at the second attempt after Dan Regan blocked his first effort. Nathan Fisher curled the third.

The one consolation for Hebburn is, that they have made nearly £20,000 in prize money from their run, which started right back in the extra preliminary round, plus a share of the gate receipts from a 1,198 crowd at the International Stadium.