Gainsborough Trinity 2 Blyth Spartans 0 (Match Report)

Two second half goals were enough to condemn Blyth Spartans to back-to-back defeats in the Blue Square North following on from the 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Guiseley on Tuesday night.

Gainsborough Trinity have now won their last two games under caretaker boss Steve Housham and were simply too good for an out of sorts Spartans side at The Northolme on Saturday.

Steve Cuggy's men will seek redemption against Harrogate Town on Bank Holiday Monday when they will welcome a few familiar faces back to Croft Park.

Blyth donned their new red away strip for the first time in Lincolnshire but a change of colours didn't bring about a change of luck as they found themselves on the receiving end of a contentious refereeing decision on 11 minutes.

Referee Christopher Kavanagh deemed that contact was made when Dylan Purvis challenged Ryan Paczkowski in the area, and swiftly pointed to the penalty spot.

Ryan Williams stepped up to take the spot-kick but was denied by debutant goalkeeper Matt Hunter who saved well down to his left.

Half chances fell at both ends with Blyth's Glen Taylor miscuing a shot from 20 yards before Trinity's Ryan Kendall dragged an effort wide of Hunter's upright.

The hosts then came close on two occasions. Firstly Jamie Yates was denied when his back post header was brilliantly saved at point blank range by Hunter.

Then in their next attack, Hunter was stranded after failing to collect a deep cross and Williams struck a shot which was cleared off the goal-line by Wayne Buchanan.

With just seconds of the first half remaining Neal Hooks whipped in a dangerous free kick which hit his teammate Carl Jones on the way to Gainsborough 'keeper Phil Barnes - who denied the defender a goal on his Spartans debut.

The home side started the second half brightly with Williams cutting in from the right and firing a shot which rattled the far post.

After being denied from the penalty spot, Williams had seemingly been on a one man crusade to score and was again thwarted by Hunter, who pulled off another fine save.

Gainsborough took a deserved lead on the hour mark but the goal came in somewhat fortuitous circumstances. In a 50-50 tackle on the halfway line with Blyth's Dan Groves the ball cannoned off Andrew Boyce and found its way to Kendall, who through on goal rounded Hunter to slide home from eight yards.

Hunter then kept the deficit to just one goal when he backpedalled to tip an attempted lob from Lewis McMahon over the crossbar.

The hosts doubled their lead on 75 minutes when Williams finally got his goal. Yates crossed from the left and Williams struck a fierce volley which hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced out, but the linesman on the far side immediately signalled that the ball had crossed the line.

The response from the visitors was non-existent until the final minute of added on time, when substitute Phil Bannister glanced a header just over the crossbar.

Gainsborough Trinity: Barnes, Roma, Sandwith, Cowan, Boyce, Leary, D'Laryea, Williams (Nelthorpe), Kendall (Mettam), Paczkowski (McMahon), Yates

MOM: Leary

Blyth Spartans: Hunter, Groves, Cave, Purvis, Jones (Atkin), Buchanan, Taylor, Hooks, Armstrong, Emms (Slaughter), Phillips (Bannister)

MOM: Hunter

Attendance: 407

Referee: Christopher Kavanagh.