In association with:
ALAN McLEAN FCMA CGMA
Chartered Management Accountant
Marine 2-1 Blyth Spartans
Evo-Stik Northern Premier League
Arriva Stadium
Tuesday 24th March 2015
Attendance:
The hosts started well and came within a whisker of taking the lead inside ninety seconds. The lively Lewis Codling skipped past three Spartans challenges before smashing a right foot effort from twenty yards against the inside of Nick Thomson’s near post and the ball rolled to safety.
That miss was punished just a minute later as Spartans took the lead with another goal from the in-form Dan Maguire. Michael Richardson took a corner from the left and he found the head of the unmarked Maguire, who almost apologetically headed home from inside the six yard box, looking embarrassed at the amount of time and space he had been afforded by the Mariners defence.
The game settled after Spartans opener, it had to, given the remarkable pace both sides had opened with on a bitterly cold night on Merseyside.
Midway through the half the game burst back into life as Spartans came close to a second goal. A wonderfully weighted pass from Matthew Wade released Robbie Dale on the left hand side. As the winger was closed down by Mariners full back Stephen Wainwright, Dale cut inside on his right foot and curled a shot just past the far post, with the hosts keeper Matthew Cooper scrambling along his goal line.
That chance sparked Dale into life and he was at the heart of the action again on the half hour mark. Michael Richardson closed down a clearance from Wainwright and rolled the loose ball to Dale on the left hand side of the Mariners area. Dale burst into the area and ghosted past three timid challenges before forcing Cooper into a smart stop at his near post.
It was all Spartans and Richardson was next to try his luck with, what would have been, a goal of the season contender. The midfielder played a one-two with Maguire and saw the return ball pop up in front of him thirty five yards from goal. Without breaking stride Richardson smashed a volley goalwards and the backpeddling Cooper only just managed to tip it over the bar.
A second goal seemed an inevitably it arrived ten minutes before the break, although it was the home side who scored. In pretty much an action replay of Spartans goal some thirty two minutes earlier, it came courtesy of an unmarked header from a corner. Karl Clair took the flag kick and it was met at the far post by Lloyd Ellams, who couldn’t miss from six yards out.
Worse was to follow from Spartans two minutes before the break. An underhit pass in midfield saw Matthew Wade robbed of possession by Ellams, who was then allowed to advance towards the Spartans area before smashing a low drive just inside Thomson’s near post.
Marine: Cooper, Wainwright, Short, Willis, Foley, Nicholas, Ellams, Clair, Owens A, Menagh, Codling Subs not used: Fearnelough, Owens T, Whyte, Peers, Wilsby Goals: Ellams 35, 43
Spartans: Thomson, Nicholson, Watson, Hutchinson, Parker, Hooks, Rivers, Richardson, Maguire, Wade, Dale Subs not used: Davis, Lynch, Wearmouth, Bramley, Bell Goals Maguire 3
Referee: Barry Cropp