Tom talks - about the Nantwich Town game

The Spartans suffered defeat at Nantwich Town on Saturday and it left manager Tom Wade disappointed with the goals his side conceded when, in his opinion, they deserved a point from the game.

A torrid first five minutes saw Blyth pegged back by a lively Nantwich side.

"The first five or ten minutes are vitally important in any game and we came through it," said Wade.
"After that we held the ball better and got into the game. Both sides had chances and it could have been 4-4 at half time. We were good on set plays and broke well through Daniel Maguire and Andy Jennings. However we were unable to get beyond their defence to cause them real trouble."

The hosts went ahead ten minutes before the break and in controversial circumstances.
Wade was not a happy man.

"The ball went out of play by at least a foot. Phil Airey backed off anticipating a throw in. We had switched off when Nantwich crossed the ball. The assistant on the line totally missed the fact that the ball had gone out and we suffered for it," he said.

The Spartans won a penalty ten minutes after the restart when Jennings was brought down in the penalty box. Airey's spot kick was parried but Jennings was on hand to fire the rebound home.

The Blyth boss was perplexed with what happened."I spend hours working up set plays and everyone knows what to do over the 90 minutes. Craig Hubbard would normally have taken the kick but was tired and gave the ball to Airey. At least we did score, I suppose. I reckon missed penalties have probably cost us six or seven points this season. We'd have been in midtable if we'd scored from them."

Within five minutes the hosts retook the lead when a scuffed cross was deflected in to the goal by an unfortunate Jordan Mellish.

"Another foolish goal which we have conceded this season," bemoaned Wade. "We are giving teams goals-they're not actually creating them. We must cut that out next season."

The game finished 2-1 despite both sides continuing to have chances.

"All the recent travelling caught up with us," suggested the Blyth boss. "We had some tired legs out there but I can't thank the players enough for coming through a difficult season which included playing under three managers. The fans too have been great and our following on Saturday was exceptional!"

Despite the conclusion of fixtures Wade's work this season is not yet done.

"I'll still be taking in four games or so a week in the local Leagues and organising for pre-season starting with a fitness analysis session next Monday. I'll be taking that opportunity to speak to players individually and face to face about next season. That's the way I like to do things."