Preview | York City (A) | National League North | 21/22

By Stephen Burton

Blyth Spartans will hope to end their winless run this Saturday as they travel to the LNER Community Stadium to take on full-time outfit York City.

Michael Nelson's side suffered their fifth straight defeat in unfortunate fashion as they went down 2-1 to Bradford (Park Avenue) on Monday night.

Spartans created numerous chances and went into half-time 1-0 thanks to JJ O'Donnell's sixth goal of the campaign, before the home side hit back twice late in the second half.

Ticket Information

Supporters can purchase advance tickets online, over the phone or in-person from the LNER Community Stadium.

The fixture is NOT all ticket and pay on the day is available at the ticket booths located outside the North stand, where the away fans are designated.

Milestone

Saturday's clash against the Minstermen could well be a memorable one for midfielder Sean Reid, who is set for his 200^th appearance in a Spartans shirt.

The Opposition

Steve Watson's side will be hoping to bounce back after suffering a 2-1 defeat away to Boston United. Michael Woods had levelled for the visitors who thought they had done enough to secure a draw before Boston hit home a late penalty to snatch the points.

York, currently sitting in ninth, have had a steady start to the season, with 15 points from 10 games. They've had a mixed start at home so far with three wins and three defeats from their first six matches.

WHAT WE'RE SAYING

Speaking after the Bradford PA defeat, Nelson was pleased with his side's performance despite the loss.

He said: "I'm gutted for the lads. I think the work rate and effort they put in was brilliant. But again, we've made an error on the halfway line and they've punished us.

"I think if you look at the amount of crosses and shots we've had, we need to score more than one goal. When you go 1-0 up and put in a good first-half display you should see it out, if not go on and get a second or third to put the game to bed."

Speaking about the losing run, he added: "It's massively disappointing. The lads must get round each other and be big and strong and have a few harsh words with each other. We need to pull a result out. It doesn't matter who you're up against you need to be on it."

What They're Saying

York boss Watson was also saw the positives in the Minstermen's defeat to Boston.

He said: "I thought we were the team that tried to play and create things. Second half I thought we got ourselves in some great positions but we just couldn't get on the end of anything.

"We've put on a decent away performance without getting anything from it again and that's really disappointing.

"There are some positives to take out of tonight. It wasn't a bad performance and I think we coped with the conditions as a bit better but we just didn't get the rub of the green."

Last Time We Met

The last time the side's met was in December 2020 at Croft Park, with the Minstermen on that occasion enjoying a 3-0 win.

Overall York have enjoyed the better of Blyth over the last few seasons, winning five of their seven meetings in league and cup with Spartans winning twice.

Blyth's last away win was on 23^rd December 2017 as they kicked the festive season off with an impressive 3-2 win. Greg Rutherford, Adam Wrightson got themselves on the scoresheet along with Sean Reid, who'll no doubt be aiming to repeat the feat on his landmark appearance.

Media Coverage

Due to unforeseen circumstances, there will be no Spartans media coverage from the LNER Community Stadium. We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause.