Ahead of the final home game of the season, club captain Jeff Henderson sat down with the club programme editor Matty Hunter to discuss the season, his recent milestone, and the forthcoming Northumberland Senior Cup final.
It feels like only recently that Jeff Henderson reached 200 appearances in the amber of black of Morpeth Town in November 2023, and recently he notched 250 appearances and counting.
“Time goes fast, doesn’t it?” he joked.
“I am proud to be captain of this football club, it means a lot. I have been here a long time now and I love the place. I know everyone who’s involved with the club , and add to that I have family and friends who like coming to the home games. Sally ( my wife ) brings Minnie and Harry who are starting to show an interest which means so much to me too, this club is everything.”
I think that it has been one of the best seasons that the club has had, in terms of progression” Jeff said.
“There have been moments in the season where if we had done a bit better, we would probably be in the play offs, but on the whole, I think it has been a successful campaign, an enjoyable one and we can still make it the best yet in terms of league points and finish.”
It has been a season of many memorable moments, but what has been the best one for the skipper?
“There have been many great moments this year. We have had some brilliant away wins this season and one that stands out for me was our win at Worksop on a Tuesday night with a depleted squad, especially when you consider that last season, we were beat 7-0 down there. That was one of the worst nights in football I have had, so to rectify that was very pleasing. I could pick so many more moments across the season but that one is the standout,” Jeff said.
If you look at the league form table, Morpeth Town are currently 18th in the division on home form, but 5th on away form, so what does Jeff put that down to?
“I think that coming into this season we had to improve our away form (which we have certainly done) but our home form has suffered as a result, which we need to rectify next season as normally we are so strong at Craik Park.
I think that we put a bit more pressure and expectation on ourselves when playing at home to win and play good football and have found ourselves on the wrong side of the result but we know what we can do and it’s about finding that balance and maintaining form”, he said.
When the season ends, Morpeth Town have the Northumberland Senior Cup final to look forward to, a competition that we most recently won in 2023, and we will be looking for our fifth triumph in three weeks time.
“It is a brilliant occasion and a great way to finish the season on a high, and if we approach it in the right way, I believe we will win again,” the captain told the club website.
“It will be an intense game as both teams will be up for it with it being at St James’ Park, and we need to be aggressive and play with intensity. It has not been a distraction on our league focus though, and if anything, it is making everyone be on their game and try to perform the best they can to stand the best chance of being in the starting eleven in the final.”
