The first shot on target came for Pontefract but John Cyrus’ seventh minute header from inside the box was tame and easy for Andrew Jennison to deal with.

Two minutes later Lewis Suddick was inches away from giving The Hornets a lead when he got on the end of a ball forward and tried to dink Ponte ‘keeper Seb Mackowski with a lovely half-volley but hit the bar.

Pontefract got up the other end and took the lead in the 11th minute. A long clearance fell to Joe Lumsden and he found Michael Dunn with a lovely through ball who did well to round Jennison and finish into the open goal.

It didn’t take long for Town to respond. Jack Elliott picked up the ball on the left in the 14th minute and showed great footwork to drive into the box before being tripped by Fabian Bailey.

Graeme Armstrong stepped up and confidently slammed the ball into the bottom left corner.

Dibb-Fuller played a ball over the defence in the 28th minute and Armstrong was on the end of it to try and lob the ‘keeper but missed narrowly wide.

Hebburn were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty in the 34th minute. Richardson hit a lovely cross from a free-kick and Louis Storey was on the end of it but the sting was taken off his header by the hand of Jameel Ible and ran through to the goalkeeper.

The Hornets were on the front foot and causing Pontefract problems, but the home side were dealing with them.

Elliott had a great chance to give Hebburn the lead in the 42nd minute. Ben Dibb-Fuller picked up the pieces of a half-cleared corner and played the ball through to Storey. The ball was knocked out of Storey’s feet by through to Elliott by a Pontefract defender but Mackowski was equal to his one-on-one effort.

Ponte got straight up the other end and had their first good chance since the goal when Connor Smythe forced Jennison into action to save his free-kick.

The Hornets should have taken the lead in added time when Elliott was played through by Richardson but his one-on-one effort was tame and dealt with by Mackowski.

Then it was the home side’s turn to have a good chance to take the lead deep into stoppage time. A Bailey cross found the head of Lumsden who was in acres of space but could only direct the ball at Jennison.

Chances proved to be fewer and further between in the second-half.

Michael Richardson’s hit a decent strike from a free-kick from distance in the 48th minute but the ball didn’t dip on time and flew over the bar.

Storey’s ball down the line in the 53rd minute was picked up by Suddick and he played the ball to Dibb-Fuller who released a shot well wide.

The game fired up a bit in the 55th minute when Jake Pilton took out Jack Elliott. There was a bit of afters and a booking each way.

Lumsden looked like Ponte Colls’ main threat in attack and he tried to work space to shoot inside the box in the 59th minute before a commanding Jack Donaghy clearance.

Elliott looked to be in-behind in the 60th minute when he beat Scott Brown for pace to get onto a hopeful ball forward before being hauled down. Nothing came of the free-kick.

It was possibly Pontefract who had the best chance of the half against the run of play. Ible’s header from Gavin Rothery’s corner hit the underside of the bar but bounced out.

Good pressing from Elliott and Richardson on the right allowed the latter to break in the 82nd minute but his drilled cross was dealt with by Pontefract.

Armstrong had a good chance to win it in added time on the end of Luke Sullivan’s ball over the top, he took his shot on early under some pressure from the Pontefract defence and fired high and wide.

That proved to be the last good chance of the game, the tie going to a replay at The Energy Check Sports Ground on Tuesday 3rd September.