Blyth Spartans
Ashton United
Tuesday 21 January 2025 7:45PM
League
Attendance: TBC
Blyth Spartans v Ashton United | Saturday, 4 January 2025 - 15:00 | League
Blyth Spartans are set to finally kick off 2025 on home turf as Ashton United travel to Croft Park.
Spartans fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat away to FC United of Manchester on Saturday in what was only their second match of the new year, since a New Year's Day draw away to Morpeth Town
Matchday Information
You can buy tickets with cash or card at the gate on the day or online here. All ticket information is as follows:
- Adults - £15
- Concessions (over 65) - £9
- 11-16 Years & Students - £6
- Under-10s are admitted for free when accompanied by a paying adult.
To be seated in the Port of Blyth main stand, an extra £2 cost will be incurred for each category.
Buy TicketsTeam News
There are no new injury concerns from Saturday's game. Forward Joe Dixon is in contention for a home debut since arriving from Northallerton Town last week.
What We're Saying
Speaking after the defeat to FC United, Head Coach Nathan Haslam said, “Unfortunately, football is a results-driven game, and today we came away empty-handed.”
“We prepared well and were in a good place to get something from this match. The first half didn't offer much in terms of clear chances - it was very even, a real midfield battle.”
“We saw some nice passages of play from both sides, but ultimately, two costly mistakes made the difference. The first goal, from our vantage point, looked a yard offside. The second was a catastrophic error that left them one-on-one. Honestly, I don't think the game deserved a two-goal deficit at that stage.”
“In the second half, we dominated possession, created chances, and looked the better side. We didn't look like a team sitting at the bottom of the table - there were a lot of positives to take. Overall, I think we performed very well.”
Opposition
Ashton United are the league's in-form team having won five of their last six games, including a 5-0 demolition of Whitby Town last weekend. That came off the back of an impressive 1-0 win at home to runaway leaders Macclesfield.
The Robins are currently in fifth place, the last of the play-off spots, five points clear of sixth place Stockton Town. Ashton United currently sit 5th place in the Northern Premier League Premier Division with 39 points as they occupy the final playoff spot.
What They're Saying
After his side's win over Whitby, Ashton United manager Steve Cunningham said, “I thought we were outstanding. I think they met us on our very best day today, it was our best performance of the season.”
“We're not going to get carried away, we've got tough game on Tuesday. We've got to Blyth on Tuesday, it'll be a tough place to go. We will treat it like they're top of the league, and we're going to treat it like we can win the league that day, and that's got to be our mentality for every game we play.”
Last Time We Met
The sides met on the opening day of the 2024/25 season at Hurst Cross when the sides drew 2-2 as Nicky Deverdics opened the scoring before the hosts scored two in the second half to take the lead. In the 86th minute, Michael Woods levelled the game to give Spartans a point.
Media Coverage
You can follow all of the action on Tuesday Evening via our social media platforms and BlythLive on Mixlr from 7:30 pm.
Written by Ben Lightfoot and Stehpen Burton