Morpeth Town v Blyth Spartans | Wednesday, 1 January 2025 - 15:00 | League

Blyth Spartans kick off the new year with a short trip to Craik Park as we face Morpeth Town AFC with a 1pm kick-off.

On Boxing Day the Spartans suffered a 4-3 defeat at Croft Park to Whitby Town which saw two red cards for the visitors and Greg Halford played the majority of the game in goal for the Spartans.

Matchday Information

You can buy tickets at the gate on the day. All ticket information is as follows:

• Adults - £10
• Concessions - £6
• Under-16s - £3

Team News

Ollie Basey will make his Spartans debut with Adam Richardson still recovering from the injury that forced him off on Boxing day. Alfie Doherty will also be eligible to make his debut

What We're Saying

After our Boxing Day defeat, new head coach Nathan Haslam said: “It was the worst start possible from kickoff as we gave the ball away and I think that set the tone.

“For the first 15 to 20 minutes I think we looked really nervous and the game plan went out the window really, we wanted to show a load of courage and bravery and we didn't really do that.

“You could see, as someone who has just come to this football club they were lacking in confidence you could see that and within the first 10 to 15 minutes our own mistakes gifted Whitby opportunities and truth be told they could have been two or three up within that period.”

Opposition

The Highwaymen are currently sitting 10th in the NPL Premier Division, five place and six points off the final playoff spot.

In their most recent game, they were held to a 2-2 draw at Workington following a 92nd-minute penalty scored by Steven Rigg to deny Craig Lynch's side all three points.

What They're Saying

Looking ahead to the New Year's Day clash, Craig Lynch said: “This is a big one now. Blyth haven't won in 11 games but it's going to change at some point.

“We can't be the team that lets them get their backs up.”

Last Time We Met

The sides met at Croft Park in August when Morpeth Town won 4-1 with goals from Jack Foalle, Nic Bollado and ex-Spartan Nathan Buddle. Zach Simpson also scored his first league goal for the club on the day.

Media Coverage

You can follow all of the action on Wednesday afternoon via our social media platforms, unfortunately, there will be no BlythLive for our trip to Craik Park.