Preview | Darlington F.C. (A) | National League North | 2023/24

Blyth Spartans face a Tuesday night trip to Blackwell Meadows as they take on local North-East rivals Darlington FC.

The Spartans suffered a late defeat on Saturday as Jamie Jellis broke the deadlock and scored the winner in the 93rd minute seeing Tamworth leave Croft Park with all three points.

Ticket Information

Match tickets can be purchased either online here or on the day at the turnstiles using either contactless debit/credit card or cash. Ticket prices are as follows:

• Adults - £15 standing - £17 seated
• Concessions (18/24, over 65 and students with valid ID) - £11 standing - £13 seated
• Juniors (12-17-year-old) - £5 standing - £7 seated
• Under-12s are admitted for free when accompanied by a paying adult.

Car parking at the stadium is a £5 charge which can be bought online alongside tickets.

Team News

Billy Gordon, Lewis Knight and Michael Liddle all took part in the pre-game warm-up prior to Saturday's fixture against Tamworth and will be hoping to get minutes under their belt at the soonest moment possible.

Jon Shaw revealed that he tweaked a muscle against The Lambs too which saw him withdrawn for Charlie Aitken, it is unclear whether he, Cedric Main and JJ Hooper will be available to feature in County Durham on Tuesday evening.

New signing Mikael Ndjoli will be available and in contention to make his debut for the Club having joined on a short-term loan deal from Hartlepool United.

What We're Saying

After a disappointing end and late defeat to Tamworth, assistant manager Jon Shaw said: "Look over the balance of the game and we've said it in there, they were probably the better side over the hundred minutes, which I have got to say I don't know how we've played a hundred minutes, it's not the reason we've lost the game, but neither physios have gone on, one of their lads has sat down for a short spell.

"But we're playing a lot of minutes with a patched-up side, a lot of lads at the top end of the pitch on the treatment table, I've obviously come off with a slight tweak today, so there's a lot of frustration, there's a lot of things that kind of conspired against us as we've been a bit unfortunate.

"The goal at the end, straight away one of the lads has held their hands up and said my man scored and the timing of the goal is a kick in the teeth, but look they're at the top of the league for a reason."

Jon Shaw's post-match assessment of Saturday's 1-0 defeat against Tamworth

Opposition

The Quakers, managed by Josh Gowling who was appointed in September, currently sit at the bottom of the National League North having won one game this season and have accumulated seven points in 12 games.

In their last outing, they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Kings Lynn Town after a 21-minute double from Josh Barrett sealed a defeat for the Quakers. The Quakers' scheduled National League North fixture away to Banbury United on Saturday was postponed due to the inclement weather conditions suffered by Storm Babet nationwide.

Their only win this season was against Alfreton Town on matchday five as Darlington won 3-2 away from home courtesy of Andrew Nelson and two second-half goals from Finley Barnes.

Last Time We Met

Since Darlington's reformation in 2012, Spartans have failed to win any of their nine trips to Bishop Auckland's Heritage Park (ground shared for the 2012/13 season) and their own Blackwell Meadows.

Most recently at Blackwell Meadows, Spartans suffered a 1-0 defeat in September 2022 after Ben Liddle scored the winner in the 95th minute for the Quakers.

However, the Spartans have failed to win any of their last 10 competitive league fixtures, both home and away, against Darlington, with their last victory coming in October 2017 in a 3-1 win at Croft Park as Blyth came back from 1-0 down through three second-half goals from Adam Wrightson, Sean Reid and Robbie Dale.

Media Coverage

You can follow all of the action on Tuesday night via our social media platforms and BlythLive on Mixlr from 7:30pm.

National League TV will also be streaming the match live. Click here for more information on how to purchase a Match Pass.