With less than 3 weeks to go until the beginning of the new Pitching In Northern Premier League Premier Division campaign, Spartans 4th pre-season friendly see’s us face local side Blyth Town, for the first ever Gateway Cup.
Coming off probably their most successful season in their near 30 year history, Town romped to the Northern League 2nd Division title last season after seeing off challenges from Newcastle Blue Star and Bedlington Terriers. They also took on Newcastle United’s U21’s in the Northumberland Senior Cup final, pushing them all way before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat.
As for Tuesday’s game, the main threat from Town will likely be from former Spartan Dan Wilson, who netted 34 goals for them in all competitions last season. A physical presence with a keen eye for goal who’s arguably capable of playing at a higher level, Dan will likely cause our backline some real problems.
The other former Spartans in the side include midfielder Ben Sayer, who had a short spell with us back in 2014. A natural playmaker, Ben has the ability to thread the perfect pass no matter the playing surface or the conditions.
Midfielder Yannick Aziakonou who once featured for the old reserve team should also feature for Town, as will former U19 Evan Fogarty – who can play just about anywhere in defence. Another former U19 in Charlie Walker should also play some part in Tuesday’s game as well.
Winger Adam Johnson (not THAT Adam Johnson) was one of Town’s key players last season, and he likely has more than enough about him to be star man again this year. Capable of turning any full back inside out, AJ has enough pace and technical ability to cause us some real trouble. He’s arguably another player that could go higher up the pyramid.
Another one last seasons key players who’s signed up again for the new season is central midfielder/defender Joe Gibson. The combative ball winner who absolutely loves to put in a crunching tackle has been at the heart of Town’s team for many years now. Having come through the ranks at Town, he’s now the club captain and arguably the heart of the current team – having just won the ‘Players player of the year’ award for the 3rd year running.
Winger Brandon Slater was another top performer last season. The ex-Ashington man found himself on the scoresheet more than a few times last year, and was responsible for setting up a number of Dan Wilson’s goals during their title winning season.
Former Toon youngster Nathan Beesley joined Town last season, and quickly established himself as a dominant right back. A rock solid defensive presence who’s capable of advancing forward to swing a cross in, Nath will certainly be one to watch. At left back, Spartans fan Harry Sawyer (who scored directly from a corner in last year’s friendly) will be equally tough to get past.
So far this summer Town have brought in a number of new players, including striker Marcus Giles from Northern League Division One champions Bishop Auckland. A good finisher who’s as strong as an ox, Marcus will be another physical threat to deal with. Experienced defender Stephen Forster joins from Newcastle Blue Star. He had years of success at Morpeth Town before spending a few years at North Shields.
Ben Franklin returns to Town after a spell at Bedlington Terriers last season. A former Gateshead academy player, the midfielder is someone Town are very excited about ahead of the new season. Former Hebburn and North Shields winger Tom Potter has also linked up with Town after a spell with Blue Star last season. The former FA Vase winner can act as a number 10 as well, making him unpredictable and difficult to come up against. Central defender George Hayton is another new face, arriving from Bedlington Terriers.
Town’s best signing so far this summer though would have to be Liam Wotherspoon, who joins from Birtley Town. Having established himself as one of the best midfielders in the Northern League in recent years, the energetic box-to-box midfielder returns to Town having just missed out on promotion to the NPL East with Birtley Town last season.
With the some of best talent in the Northern League added to what is already an established and well drilled side, Town boss Mickey Connor and assistant Gav Fell will surely be confident going into the new season, with perhaps even an eye on a double promotion.
So far this summer, Town have drawn 2-2 with Musselburgh Athletic in a training game before their games in the St Mary’s Cup – going down 2-1 to NPL East side Dunston UTS before beating Alnwick Town 7-0 the following day. A 5-2 win over Fc Hartlepool followed, and their most recent friendly saw Town take on Northern League Division One champions Bishop Auckland in the JR Cleater Cup, losing 3-2 late on.
As for Nobby Solano’s Spartans, they’ll be looking to get a result and put on a decent showing after a rather disastrous outing last time out against Gateshead, as Spartans sunk to a 7-0 defeat.
Lucas Reed missed the game with a knock, who was arguably a big miss as he’s probably been our best player in pre-season so far.
Trialist left back Henry Harvey didn’t feature on Friday night, or at least he didn’t start the game. At present we’ve still ne clue who the left back was. Marcello Benedetti started on the left flank, while new trialist Joseph Abrahart began on the left. He’s currently with the South Shields international academy, having featured for the MacEwan Griffins in the Canadian university leagues, who listed him as a defender. Another new trialist on Friday was Luke Malloy, who previously played for Alnwick Town in the Northern Alliance Premier Division.
Expect we’ll see winger Gee Baltazar, former Newcastle Benfield man Belchior Rodrigues, Gateshead youngster Zac Benjamin and former North Shields keeper Olly Marshall again, as they all featured on Friday night. Forward/winger David Allasan appeared to miss Friday night, as did midfielder Alex Bernhan. As for Michael Ndiweni, he’s said to be training with TNS down in Wales at the moment, so who knows if we’ll see him again.
As for new signings, it’s a case of waiting and seeing at present. It’s hoped these loan signings from Gateshead will finally be confirmed soon, however that will still mean we require at least 5/6 NPL level players if we’re going to be competitive.
Expect the bar will be open from around 5pm(ish) and it’ll likely get busy early on, as they’ll be expecting a canny crowd there on Tuesday. The clubhouse at Town is one of the best around, and they have a canny selection of beers on tap – none better than the Cruzcampo though!
The car park tends to get full pretty quickly on a normal match day, and that’s just from the players and staff alone! In the past people have tended to park on the grass just outside the ground, but that probably isn’t recommended.
With the traffic being generated from the roadworks surrounding the new train station, we’d expect getting in and out of the ground to be a a bit of a pain – so if you live in or around South Beach, it might be worth walking up.
A hatch for scran can be found right at the entrance to the clubhouse, and it covers all the basics. Again though I’d expect that to get rather busy rather fast!
Prior to game a presentation will be made to Sir Robbie Dale, celebrating his long and successful career following his retirement.
Although it is a friendly, we will be competing for the Gateway Cup, in what looks to be a long term agreement going forward. So if the game does end in a draw, there is a slim chance we may see some penalties to crown the inaugural winner – or it may just be shared.
Admission prices can be found below. Cash or card is taken on the gate.
Adults – £6
Concessions – £2
If you’ve not checked out much of the pre-season action just yet, it might be worth going down to Gateway Park on Tuesday. The set up at Town is well worth a visit, and hopefully we should see a much improved Spartans performance. On top of that, the weather is set to be canny and we’re due an appearance from God himself!
