After finally making his Blyth Spartans debut, left back Michael Riley reflected on an eventful first appearance in the 2-2 draw with Whitby Town. The Newcastle United Under 21 left back was moved into a more attacking role on the left hand side of midfield in the second period and played his part in overturning a 0-2 scoreline at half time. The Walker born defender said “It was an interesting game and I enjoyed the physical aspect of it. I’m more used to the more technical side of the game playing at Newcastle so it took some getting used to. Getting used to playing with new players, on a new pitch and a new style of player will all help me in the long term but I thought overall I did well.”
The postponement of Spartans trip to Hednesford Town meant Riley had to wait even longer to make his Spartans bow but revealed he has settled in well at Croft Park, calling on the help of some former team mates to help his get used to life with Paddy Atkinson’s side. Riley commented “I’ve been made to feel welcome here and obviously I knew lads who used to be at Newcastle like Ryan(McGorrigan) and Phil(Airey) and obviously Marcus Maddison has been here too recently. I’m not really a shy lad so I’ll settle in anywhere I think but I’m enjoying it here. It’s great to get experience of playing against more physical players and hopefully get fitter and stronger as time goes on”.