Reflecting on his side’s 3-1 away win at Matlock Town, Spartans manager Tommy Cassidy was delighted with the three points but insists his side can still strive for more. A sloppy first half show by Spartans saw them improve massively during the second period and seal their third away win in a row after wins at Whitby Town and Stocksbridge Park Steels, games where they also hit three goals. Spartans only managed two away wins in the league during last season and took until March to get their first.
The former Northern Ireland international said “Obviously it’s a great win, to come back from 0-1 down to win 3-1 it’s a great result in that respect. We were one down in the first half and were poor, we just didn’t play. The second half we were much better, we finished well and that made a big difference.” He continued “It’s all the win fortunately and we have the three points. What is positive is that we got the win but we didn’t play well so you can imagine we were do put it all together and get a good ninety minutes we will be a much better side for it”
The sending off of Matlock defender Phil Roe was seen as pivotal by some but Cassidy preferred to focus on his own side’s performance rather than the dismissal of any opposing player. He commented “It obviously had an impact, there’s no getting away from it but I try to look at it from a Blyth Spartans side of things. First half we were poor and the lads got a talking to at half time. The substitutions made a difference and gave us more life and more energy. I watched Matlock during the week and they were beaten but they were a bit better today but it’s all about us and to comeback the way we did is great credit to us”.
Former Whitby Town frontman Ash Davis proved to be the catalyst for the comeback when he notched his first two competitive goals for the club. Cassidy knows the striker well after having him in his squad during his time at the Turnbull Ground and praised his impact on the game. “Phil Airey did well today but Ash came on and did brilliantly for us. He’s quick and he’s strong and elusive. He is an impact player and he can make a difference as he has today. He can be very very good and you need that as an impact player. He scored a very good first goal and he can do that and I’d like to see it on a more consistent basis.”
Chorley are next up for Spartans at Croft Park on Tuesday night and Cassidy feels the game will show just how far his side have progressed since relegation last season. It has been a positive start to the new campaign for the club and Cassidy is looking forward to the game. “We have a massive game on Tuesday against Chorley, who are a strong side. It’ll be a good test for us but we can go into that in a positive manner with the three points gained today”.