A 3-0 defeat to fellow Pitching In Northern Premier League Premier Division side Hebburn Town capped off what has probably been the most unimpressive pre-season of the last 20 or so years.
Blyth began with Bond in goal, Oliver RB, Abrahart LB, Clark and Pani at CB, Woods and Cornet in the middle, Benedetti as a 10, Aitken on the right, David Allasan on the left and Ndiweni up top.
The inclusion of Connor Pani was a bit of a surprise, though it was probably an even bigger surprise to see him shoehorned in at centre back, a position he’s never played before. Former Middlesbrough man Isiah Cornet, winger David Allasan and former Newcastle United forward Michael Ndiweni were the other players featuring as trialists.
Hebburn had the lead within 2 minutes, as they broke down our left wing and played in veteran striker Amar Purewal, who slotted the ball past Bond.
Spartans looked to be chasing the game from that point onwards. They did manage to create a chance for Ndiweni and one of the wingers (admittedly I wasn’t paying attention so I’ve ne idea who it was) but both chances were smashed straight at Hebburn’s 2nd choice keeper Callum Dobson.
Hebburn should have really scored again 20 min’s in, with Robinson catching Abrahart off guard to feed in Purewal once again, but he smashed the ball just wide of the goal.
While Spartans had spells of possession, it was hosts that played the much better football. Their dominance was rewarded 35 min’s in, as a Spartans defender headed a clearance into the path of Walton, who smashed the ball home.
The rest of the half was watched from the bar, as Hebburn’s somewhat rotated side continued to control the game, and Spartans failed to really get a grasp of it or seriously trouble the goalkeeper.
While the second half would be an improvement, and we were able to pass the ball around a bit better, we still struggled to trouble the keeper.
Though it should be noted, that by this stage in the game Hebburn had 5 or 6 youngsters in their team, including a 16 year old youth player in goal. Hebburn manager Daniel Moore featured at centre back for most of the game as well.
Nobby’s side created a few chances here and there, but bar a free kick from Billy Gordon, none of them were on target or even seriously worried the youngster in goal.
The game appeared to be dying out, before Hebburn made it 3-0. 16-year-old Gildo Da Silva took control of the ball just inside the box, and tucked home to round off a comfortable win for Hebburn.
That result concludes a rather disastrous pre-season campaign – one in which we’ve seen little to suggest we’re in for a promotion push this season. If anything, if more solid reinforcements aren’t brought in, we’ll be looking at yet another relegation battle.
As for incomings, it’s expected that Connor Pani’s loan move to Spartans will finally be confirmed soon. A pair of loans from South Shields are also said to be announced shortly, though the identity of those players remains unknown at present.
In terms of trialists still at the club, midfielder Isiah Cornet may well be signed up. He impressed in spells yesterday at Hebburn, and could be an attacking threat from midfield. Striker Michael Ndiweni is of course still with the club, though you can’t really say he’s exactly shone in pre-season so far (few really have in fairness). In respect of his potential though, he should have enough about him to really dominate in this league. Hopefully he is picked up by the club, and he can hit the ground running when it matters.
As for the rest of the football stuff, we’ll dive into all that in a few days with a proper season preview. Delving into that right now with this morning’s hangover would just be depressing.
Despite yesterday’s football, we did manage to enjoy the day out at Hebburn once again. A top clubhouse and belta scran as ever, Hebburn is certainly a place we’ll look forward to returning to later in the season.
