During the close season we will be putting together a month by month look at Spartans 2013/14 season. With quotes from management and players, stats and notable achievements the Green Army can relive the many memorable moments from a campaign of progression at Croft Park
After a somewhat up and down October, November got off to a poor start as Spartans exited the FA Trophy at the hands of a Ramsbottom United side who they will face in the league next season. At a rain sodden Croft Park it was the Evo-Stik NPL First Division side who triumphed thanks to a wonder strike from their captain Daniel Warrander. Their win coming despite being reduced to ten men after the dismissal of winger Phil Dean for foul and abusive language towards the referee.
An honest Damen Mullen paid tribute to the performance from the visitors, although he accepted Spartans weren’t good enough saying “They were arguably the underdogs here today but they were excellent. They played some good stuff and were committed, they would have been a handful for any team in our league but we just weren’t good enough today”
Bonfire Night saw the league’s bottom side Droylsden travel to Croft Park on a night where it was when not if Spartans would break the deadlock. Chances were passed up by a number of Spartans players until Matthew Wade produced a wonder strike, volleying home from the edge of the box for his third goal for the club.
Wade then set up Sonny Andrews to double his side’s lead but a dogged and determined second half perfomance from the visitors meant that Spartans had to wait until the nintieth minute to score their third. A cool finish from Ryan Cummings gave the young midfielder his first for the club.
After the game Cummings said “I’m pleased to get it out of the way to be honest. The longer you go without a goal when you come to a club the more it plays on your mind. Hopefully it’ll be the first of many more. As it came to me I just had to get my head over it and make a clean connection”
Spartans made the trip to Grantham Town four days later and came off second best in a controversial game at the South Kesteven Stadium. Conor Grant was sent off for a professional foul minutes after being poleaxed by Gingerbreads striker Greg Smith as tempers boiled over in Lincolnshire.
Ash Burbeary gave the hosts the lead on two minutes although Spartans pegged them back with another goal from loan striker Sonny Andrews. Two goals in ten minutes from Jamie McGhee and Smith put the hosts in front with half time approaching. Not before Smith was lucky to only receive a yellow card after he crashed into Grant as the Spartans number one collected a high ball. The blow left Grant visably shaken and vomiting by the pitchside.
The two players came into contact again on the stroke of half time as Smith beat Grant to a long ball and flicked the ball wide of the far post. However the pair collided again and referee Bradshaw brought the play back, dismissed Grant and awarded a penalty to the home side. The spot kick was taken by McGhee and he easily rolled past stand in keeper Arjun Purewal.
Robbie Dale took his place between the sticks in the second half as Spartans fought against impossible odds. Mullen and Wearmouth went close in the opening stages and when Sonny Andrews scored his second on the hour mark belief spread throughout the Green Army. It was all Spartans with Danny Parker putting a header just wide and Andrews missing a golden chance for his hat-trick before the referee brought down the curtain on a bad tempered fixture.
After keeping a clean sheet in the second half – it wouldn’t be his last – Robbie Dale admitted his side paid the price for a poor first half show. “I didn’t have much to do to be fair, that’s not down to me, that’s down to the outfield lads and how hard they have worked. We gave ourselves too much to do after the first half but we grafted really hard in the second”
A much changed Spartans lineup played Darlington in the first round of the Doodson Sports Cup and were battered by Martin Gray’s side. On a day when Paul Robinson made his Spartans debut again his former club goals from Downson, Amar Purewal, a Joe Kendrick own goal, Fisher and Turner condemned Tom Wade’s side to the exit. Only Craig Hubbard’s seventy third minute strike gave the Green Army something to cheer.
Wade admitted post match that he felt sorry for the travelling Spartans faithful saying “We were terrible, I feel for the travelling support who made the journey”
An awful week was rounded up four days later as another poor show saw Spartans condemned to their third defeat in seven days at Buxton. Despite having the better of the first half Spartans couldn’t get the goal their play deserved and the sides went into the interval with the deadlock unbroken.
An error from Michal Misiewicz allowed Neil Stevens to give the home side the lead ten minutes after the break, a lead that was doubled as Lee Morris struck soon after. Spartans substitute Ash Davis was dismissed just ten minutes after coming on and despite Craig Hubbard getting a late goal it wasn’t enough to allow his side to get anything from the game.
Striker Dan Maguire challenged his side to improve after the game. We have to improve over the next week and with the two games we need to stand up and be counted”
After a seven day break it was back to Croft Park and Paul Robinson announced his arrival at the club in spectacular fashion against Rushall Olympic. Early pressure from Spartans saw Robinson and Maguire go close but they did take the lead in the eighteenth minute through Nathan Buddle’s first home goal for the club.
Craig Hubbard squandered a golden chance to grab another goal as for the first time in his Spartans career he missed a penalty. Shortly after the break Dan Maguire made the most of good work from Ash Davis and doubled his side’s lead on his fiftieth appearance for the club.
However Stan Mugisha got the Pics back in the game before a Gavin Caines penalty levelled it up with twelve minutes left. The momentum was all with the visitors and their chances were enhanced when Arran Wearmouth was sent off for an off the ball incident involving Pics full back Jimmy Turner.
There was to be a sting in the tail for the visitors as a wonder strike from Robinson won a dramatic game for Spartans with only two minutes left. After collecting a pass from Maguire, Robinson turned Turner inside out before crashing a rising shot into the top right hand corner of the net to send Croft Park wild.
After the game the match winner revealed his delight. “To be fair to Nipa(Dan Maguire) he has done brilliantly to beat a couple of men and find me on the left. It was a great feeling to see it go in and celebrate behind the goal with the supporters. As soon as it left my foot I knew it was going in, I couldn’t have dreamt it any better”
Next up was a narrow Northumberland Senior Cup win over Bedlington Terriers. Craig Hubbard’s goal on the hour mark saw Spartans through to a semi final clash with Ashington although his side had to be thankful for two top class stops late on from Conor Grant, something manager Tom Wade accepted after the game. He said ““In any game your opponents have a spell when they push on and they did cause us some problems. Conor did very well but overall we totally controlled the game”
November was rounded off in somewhat disappointing fashion with a comprehensive 0-3 defeat at FC United of Manchester. Spartans were outplayed and outclassed by the Rebels as goals from Davies, Daniels and Greaves saw a noisy Green Army leave Gigg Lane disappointed for the second time in two seasons.
Next week: December – Nipa hits form, two disappointing defeats, revamped Supporters Club Store opens for business and BSAFCTV highlights are aired