Maguire happy as Spartans win survival of the fittest

After scoring his second brace in the space of three day to send Spartans into their second consecutive Northumberland Senior Cup Final, striker Dan Maguire revealed he was always confident that his side would emerge victorious from their semi final clash with Northern League outfit Whitley Bay.

The in-form striker followed up his double strike at Buxton on Saturday with another brace against the Seahorses, in the process notching up a half century of goals at the club. However Maguire was keen to shrug off personal achievements and focus on a game that he felt his side won because they were able to "make our fitness levels count".

"It was frustrating but we knew we would always creating chances and it was only a matter of time before one went in. Damen Mullen finally got it and the longer the game went on the more I felt we would get there. We didn't get frustrated, we just kept going and I always thought we would make our fitness levels count"

Tom Wade's side had the majority of possession and almost monopolised the chances on goal but fell behind early to a Robbie Bird strike. Chances came and went as Spartans looked to be heading out of the competition until Damen Mullen's late strike forced the tie into extra time, which is where Maguire took centre stage and the striker admitted that he felt that once his side had got on level terms, they would always go on to win the tie.

"When Damo scored I felt we would win it. It was a real turning point and there was only going to be one winner after that. Obviously we had to used extra time to do it but I was happy with the two goals. The final against Morpeth Town should be a good game, they're a good side and we will have to be at our best to win it"