Spartans Season Review: September

During the close season we will be putting together a month by month look at Spartans 2013/14 season. With quotes from management and players, stats and notable achievements the Green Army can relive the many memorable moments from a campaign of progression at Croft Park

A Tuesday night trip to Frickley Athletic was how Spartans began September and it was a very worthwhile trip to Yorkshire. Robbie Dale chose the perfect moment to score another memorable goal as he celebrated his 350th appearance for the club with a remarkable solo effort. The hosts had their chances but Spartans dominated the game, without finding that vital goal. That was until two minutes from time when Dale collected the ball on the right hand side and drifted past four challenges before slotting past Atheltic keeper Woodhead.

After the game Dale was quick to pass on the plaudits to his team mates saying "I have to say I thought Conor(Grant) and the back four were outstanding tonight and if we can get that clean sheet we are always going to get a goal"

National Non-League Day came to Croft Park on the first Saturday of the month. A crowd of over 400 welcomed Grantham Town to Northumberland and what a game it was with yet another inspired comeback from Wade's side. An early Nathan Buddle own goal put Spartans behind at the break. An inspired second half performance saw Dan Maguire lash home from just inside the box(pictured below) before Dale was the matchwinner again late on. Again there were two minutes left on the clock but this time the winner for the winger came from the spot. Maguire was brought down by Gingerbreads keeper Hatstead and Dale coolly rolled the ball home to give his side another valuable three points.

Spartans front three of Dale, Arran Wearmouth and Dan Maguire were building quite a reputation and after the win over Grantham the latter commented "It's great playing with the two of them. It's always easier when you are playing with players on the same wavelength as you and we are starting to understand each other's games more and more with every game. Learning what kind of runs we make and what each other are going to do when we get the ball, it'll only get better"

A rather low key draw at Droylsden saw the deadlock remain unbroken before Spartans got their FA Cup campaign underway with a home tie against Evo-Stik Northern Premier League rivals AFC Fylde. It was a tie that Tom Wade referred to as "The hardest draw we could have had at this stage" and the visitors lived up to their billing but were made to work by a dogged Spartans performance.

Matthew Wade volleyed home his first goal for the club just five minutes into the game and that lead was almost doubled soon after but only a last ditch tackle denied Dan Maguire. Danny McGoldrick equalised for the Coasters(pictured below) and the sides went into the break on level terms. Just seven minutes into the second period the ever dangerous Matt Blinkhorn gave the visitors the lead. Far from being knocked by the goal Spartans fought on and were denied on several occasions by Coasters keeper Ben Hinchliffe before they sealed their passage to the next round with a late breakaway goal from Jamie Rainford.

Midfielder Craig Hubbard spoke to the official website after the game and hailed the efforts of his side. "We have players who want to play for the club and want to play for our supporters. We can be proud of what we have achieved today despite the result and so far this season and we all want to do well for Blyth Spartans"

Just three days later Spartans had the ideal opportunity to get the FA Cup exit out of their systems as Ashton United made a Tuesday night trip to Croft Park. The visitors deservedly took the lead through Gary Gee just before the half hour mark but a vastly improved Spartans came out for the second half, although they made the Green Army wait until the last ten minutes to turn the game on it's head.

Danny Parker headed home his first goal in the green and white with eight minutes left before Matthew Wade got his second goal in three days to seal the points just two minutes from time. Parker revealed his delight post-match saying ""There's absolutely no feeling like it, I haven't scored for a while so it was great to see it go in"

Goalkeeper Michal Misiewicz had been training with the club since the summer but wasn't officially registered as a player due to issues with international clearance. That finally came through in time for the Canadian U23 international to make his debut at Witton Albion and what an impact he would have at a venue where Spartans lost twice during the 2012/13 season.

A remarkable team performance full of good old Blyth spirit saw another three point return on the road. Spartans made a mockery of being reduced to nine men due to the dismissals of Neal Hooks and Craig Hubbard. The Hooks red card led to a penalty for the Albion but Misiewicz introduced himself in the best possible way as he saved Josh Hancock's spot kick. A spot kick of their own gave Spartans the points with just under ten minutes left as Robbie Dale smashed home in front of a small but noisy band of the Green Army.

Misiewicz shrugged off any personal plaudits by saying "I just did my job making saves when I had to and I am happy with the result. Everyone in the back four and everyone in the team in fact dealt with everything they could throw at us very well. I had confidence in them that they wouldn't get behind us. Everyone did their job"

Nothing ever lasts forever so said Liverpool band Echo and the Bunnymen and that was true three days later as Spartans unbeaten away record was ended by eventual League Champions Chorley. Goals from Magpies strike duo Darren Stephenson and James Dean - who hit a brace - gave the scoreline a rather deceiving one sided appearance but had it not been for the performance of Magpies keeper Sam Ashton Spartans could have taken a point. Ashton denied debutant Lewis Horner, Matthew Wade and Dan Maguire with top class saves to leave manager Tom Wade ruing the missed chances. He said "If we could have taken one of our chances in that period we could well have gone on to get something from the game."

The final game of a hectic month saw Spartans on the road for the third time in a week as they travelled to a Barwell side who had started life in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League well and boasted the division's top scorer in Danny Newton. It was Newton who gave the home side the lead eight minutes before the interval but again the comebacks that were becoming a feature of Spartans season showed up again.

A Dan Maguire strike just four minutes into the second half got Spartans back on level terms before another player grabbed his first goal for the club to seal all three points. Where Matthew Wade and Dan Parker had already acheived that feat, Nathan Buddle was to add his name to the list of scorers this season as he blasted home his first goal for the club on the eve of his twentieth birthday. That win put Spartans third in the league, their highest position of the season and defender Arjun Purewal reflected on the impressive start to the season saying "I think we are exceeding expectations at the moment. We'll just take every game as it comes and see what we can do."

Next week: October - the club mourns the loss of a legend, goals galore in the league and cup, a remarkable week for Hubbard and a first home defeat of the season