Spartans brought down the curtain on 2013 with the hard fought victory over Barwell today and ended a year of change at the club. The year began with Tom Wade assisting Paddy Atkinson in the dugout with a side struggling to escape the shadows of a second consecutive relegation battle and has ended with Wade in the managerial role with a young Spartans flirting with the play off places in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League.
Several players have seen a massive turnaround. Dan Maguire was signed by former manager Tommy Cassidy and was a supposed bit part player as Big Ben struck twelve on New Years Eve last year. Fast forward twelve months and the former Seaton Delaval man is one of the most exciting prospects in the league and sits top of the club’s goalscoring charts this season with fourteen goals.
So how does Spartans record look in 2013:-
Games played: 57
Won: 24
Lost: 26
Drawn: 7
Goals scored: 98
Goals conceded: 101
Win percentage: 42.1%
Average goals per game: 3.49
Biggest win: Blyth Spartans 6-0 Skelmersdale United FA Trophy Hubbard 3, Davis, Kendrick, Maguire
Biggest defeat: Blyth Spartans 0-5 AFC Fylde Evo-Stik NPL
As you can see above Spartans have scored a total of ninety eight goals during 2013. They have been scored by a twenty three different players. The breakdown is below:
Dan Maguire – 23
Craig Hubbard – 17
Joe Kendrick(above) – 11
Robbie Dale – 10
Andy Jennings, Lee Mason, Sonny Andrews – 4
Ryan McGorrigan, Matthew Wade – 3
Stephen Turnbull, Wayne Buchanan, Damen Mullen, Nathan Buddle, Oppo OG – 2
Shaun Utterson, Neal Hooks, Arran Wearmouth, Rob Nolan, Dan Parker, Arjun Purewal, Ash Davis, Paul Robinson, Ryan Cummings – 1
Any successful team makes their home stadium a “fortress”, or at least that is what the book of football clichés has you think. So how do Spartans shape up during 2013 at Croft Park?
Games played: 26
Won: 14
Lost: 8
Drawn: 4
Goals scored: 54
Goals conceded: 42
Win percentage: 53.8%
Average goals per game: 3.69
Biggest win: Blyth Spartans 6-0 Skelmersdale United FA Trophy Hubbard 3, Davis, Kendrick, Maguire
Biggest defeat: Blyth Spartans 0-5 AFC Fylde Evo-Stik NPL
Unsurprisingly Dan Maguire comes out on top at Croft Park in the goalscoring charts too:
Dan Maguire – 15
Craig Hubbard(below) – 6
Joe Kendrick – 5
Robbie Dale – 4
Lee Mason, Matthew Wade – 3
Damen Mullen, Sonny Andrews, Oppo o.g – 2
Wayne Buchanan, Shaun Utterson, Stephen Turnbull, Neal Hooks, Arran Wearmouth, Dan Parker, Arjun Purewal, Ash Davis, Nathan Buddle, Paul Robinson, Ryan Cummings – 1
