Preview | Southport FC (H) | National League North | 2023/24

Blyth Spartans host Southport at Croft Park under the lights on Tuesday night in the National League North.

The Spartans have drawn both of their last two games in the league, most recently against King's Lynn Town as Elliott Forbes scored his first Blyth goal to rescue a point for the Spartans in a 1-1 draw.

Graham Fenton's side were set to welcome Scunthorpe United on Saturday afternoon but inclement weather conditions including consistent rainfall during last week resulted in the Croft Park turf being waterlogged.

Ticket 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 standing
• 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.

Team News

Billy Gordon, Lewis Knight and Michael Liddle have recovered from their respective injuries and will be aiming to build their minutes up.

There are no current updates on the progression status of JJ Hooper and Cedric Main.

What We're Saying

After drawing against King's Lynn Town, Graham Fenton said: "I would say disappointing today. I'd summarise it as we huffed and puffed a lot of the game.

"We didn't create anywhere near enough chances, we created good situations, but our quality in the final third was terrible today apart from the goal which was real quality.

"So look again we've had a couple of their players coming across saying we're the best team they've played all season, but their keeper has had very little to do."

Opposition

Southport currently sit 15th in the National League North with 20 points, having played 16 games this season, however, they are just one point behind Blyth, who sit in 12th.

In their last outing, the Sandgrounders won 3-2 against newly promoted Rushall Olympic as Niall Watson scored the winner in the 84th minute.

What They're Saying

Following a victory on Saturday night against Rushall Olympic, Jim Bentley said: "It's a massive win for us.

"If you look at the six-game unbeaten run we went on, I think overall we probably deserved and maybe could have beat Tamworth, but in other games like Bishop's Stortford, we could have been 3-1 down.

"You know Hereford asked a lot of questions of us and we've had other moments in games where you might end up worthy winners like against King's Lynn where we went four up."

Last Time We Met

In the last meeting between the sides during the 2022/23 campaign, Southport came out on top in a 2-1 win, where they led 2-0 after 49 minutes. Troy Chiabi scored for the Spartans with just six minutes left to play, but they could not perform a comeback.

At Croft Park earlier that season, Blyth won 1-0 after Cedric Main scored the only goal of the game after 32 minutes.

Matchday Programme Preview

Programmes will be on sale from the hut for £2 on Tuesday evening with the basis of content tributing Armistice Day. Graham Usher has provided an in-depth article titled 'The Fallen Spartans of the Great War'.

Pre-Match

The Clubhouse will be open from 5pm ready to screen Newcastle United's Champions League away fixture to Borussia Dortmund on TNT Sports.

Shy's pies and a range of beverages will be available to supporters.

Media Coverage

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

The action will be streamed live on National League TV, you can purchase a match pass here.