Following the tragic news of Shaw Lane’s Daniel Wilkinson untimely death this morning, Blyth Spartans will be joining the rest of the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League clubs in holding a minute’s silence for the defender this evening.
Both the supporters of Blyth Spartans and Marine are asked to observe a minute’s silence for the former Hull City and Rushall Olympic defender prior to tonight’s 7:45pm start at Croft Park – after Wilkinson collapsed following a suspected heart attack during his side’s abandoned Integro Doodson Sports Cup tie with Brighouse Town last night.
Wilkinson – a former teammate of current Spartans centre-back Gavin Caines at Rushall – received treatment from both clubs and the emergency services, using Town’s own stadium defibrillator. Despite their best efforts for nearly half an hour, the 26-year-old failed to respond to treatment and was rushed by ambulance to hospital, where sadly he was later pronounced dead.