Preview | Gloucester City AFC (A) | National League North | 2023/24

Blyth Spartans are set for their longest away trip of the season as they travel to Meadow Park in a 554-mile round trip as they face Gloucester City.

The Spartans were set to play on Monday night in the Northumberland Senior Cup at Croft Park against Newcastle Benfield, but it was ultimately called off.

In their last outing, the Spartans were held to a 2-2 draw against Banbury United, where Harry Gardiner and Rhys Evans were on the scoresheet.

TICKET INFORMATION

You can buy tickets online here. All ticket information is as follows:

  • Adults (16-64) – £14
  • Concessions (over 65) – £10
  • Student/Youth – £5
  • Under-11s are admitted for free.

TEAM NEWS

Harry Arnison, Alex Mitchell, Joe Oliver and JJ O’Donnell remain out of action due to injury; Arnison however is edging closer to a return increasing his activity in training and one-to-one sessions.

WHAT WE’RE SAYING

Following a 2-2 draw with Banbury last Saturday, Jon Shaw said: “We probably could and should have won the game.

“We’ve had chances and their keeper has pulled off some unbelievable saves, we’ve missed a couple of opportunities and yeah we’ve given away a couple of sloppy goals.”

Jon Shaw’s post-match assessment of Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Banbury United

OPPOSITION

The Tigres suffered a 3-0 defeat away to Chester in their last match, which extended their winless run to five games as they sit 22nd in the National League North.

They were set to face Chorley on Tuesday night at Victory Park, but their fixture was called off after the pitch failed an inspection.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

After their defeat away to Chester, Mike Cook said: “The way they played and moved and the support was fantastic from them.

“I don’t think we laid a glove on them from what we needed to do especially in the first 30 or 40 minutes.”

Mike Cook’s post-match assessment of Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Chester

LAST TIME WE MET

The sides met on the opening day of the 2023-24 season at Croft Park as Blyth secured a 4-2 victory over the Tigres.

At Meadow Park last season it was held to a 2-2 draw between the sides. Dominic McHale secured a four-minute double after 14 minutes before Nicky Deverdics was shown a red card after 25 minutes leaving Blyth with a mountain to climb.

Troy Chiabi scored just before the break to give the Spartans some breathing room going into the second half. McHale missed a penalty 10 minutes into the second half which denied him a hat-trick, meanwhile, Issac Walker scored a penalty less than 10 minutes later. Ben Morgan was shown a red card in the 92nd minute, which was the game’s last action.

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