Preview | Alfreton Town FC (A) | National League North | 2023/24

Blyth Spartans look towards Saturday afternoon as they face Alfreton Town at the Impact Arena Stadium.

The Spartans were set to face Scunthorpe United on Tuesday night at Croft Park, but the game was ultimately postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

In their last outing, the Spartans lost 2-0 to Chorley in the Isuzu FA Trophy third round.

TICKET INFORMATION

All ticket information is as follows:

  • Adult – £15 (all under 16s with a paying adult are free of charge)
  • Concession (aged 65 and over) – £10
  • 16-21 years-old – £10
  • Student – £10
  • 12-15 years-old – £3
  • Under 12s must be accompanied by an adult to gain entry

TEAM NEWS

JJ Hooper, Lewis Knight, Harry Arnison, Jordan Hickey and Alex Mitchell are all expected to miss Saturday’s fixture.

Dan Langley is expected to debut in goal once more for Spartans after re-joining the Club on an initial one-month loan from Oldham Athletic on Tuesday evening.

WHAT WE’RE SAYING

After exiting the Isuzu FA Trophy, Graham Fenton said: “I said to the lads at half time, this is a typical Blyth performance in terms of playing some decent at times between the two boxes.

“Their keeper has had to do nothing and then we conceded off a set piece where people aren’t doing their jobs, so what are we expecting.

“It’s just a typical Blyth performance.”

Graham Fenton’s post-match assessment of Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Chorley

OPPOSITION

The Reds most recently lost 1-0 to Walsall in the FA Cup second round as they took Walsall to a replay after a 0-0 draw in the original tie. They would have faced an away trip to Southampton in the third round.

In the National League North, however, Billy Heath’s side sit 10th in the table with 29 points, having won one of their last five league fixtures.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Following defeat in the second-round replay of the FA Cup, Billy Heath said: “It was a difficult start for us because we put everything in place and then a goal after five minutes disrupts that.

“And I thought it took a good 20 minutes for us to clear ourselves, then on the half-hour mark we started to play our usual game and be our unusual selves and we were putting a lot of pressure on the football again and we were winning balls in the centre of the park, dropping on seconds.”

Billy Heath’s post-match assessment of Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat to Walsall

LAST TIME WE MET

The sides met in September at Croft Park as Alfreton Town won the game 3-1 as Cedric Main scored a 91st-minute consolation goal for the Spartans.

Last time at the Impact Arena Stadium in April Matthew Rhead’s second-half lead broke the deadlock in a 1-0 victory for the Reds.

At Croft Park earlier that season, Blyth thought they’d won it as the Spartans were leading 2-1 until Rhead equalised with the last kick of the game in the 98th minute as the Reds travelled south with a rescued point.

MEDIA COVERAGE

You can follow all of the action on Saturday afternoon via our social media platforms and BlythLive on Mixlr from 2:45 pm.

Posted by Ben Lightfoot