BLUE SQUARE BET NORTH
Venue: Bridge Road, Cambridge (CB24 9PH)
Date: Saturday August 13, 2011
Kick Off: 3pm
Score Updates:
Official Blyth Spartans Twitter feed
Admission Details:
Adults – £10
Concessions – £6
Students with ID & Under-16s – £3
Programme – £2.50
Ground Directions
Leave the A1(M) at junction 14, taking the exit onto the A14, toward M11/London (E)/Huntington/Cambridge. After approx. 17 miles, leave the A14 at junction 31, taking the A1307/A14 exit.
Continue on the ramp and merge onto A14. After one-and-a-half miles, exit at junction 32. At the roundabout, take the first exit onto Cambridge Rd/B1049, heading to Cottenham/Histon. Continue to follow the B1049 for 0.2 of a mile and the ground will be on the right.
Car parking at the ground is for permit holders and disabled people only.
Details of car parks in Histon (and costs) are available here: http://www.histonfc.co.uk/downloads/HFCcarParking.pdf
Sat-Navs: the postcode for the stadium is CB24 9PH.
Team News
Latest starting line-ups:
Histon (1-1 (4-3 pens) v Cambridge, August 6): Stadlemann, Cleaver (Sessions 89), Fitzsimons, Salt, Mills, Livermore (Hawkins 30), Breeze (Day 77), Stevenson, Holman, Riza (c), Taafe (Dowie 78). Subs not used: Crooke
Blyth Spartans (2-0 v Dunston UTS, August 8): Johnson, Groves, Purvis, Atkin, Coulson, Buchanan, Vipond, Hooks, Armstrong, Bannister, Slaughter. Rolling subs: Hunter, Jones, Forster, Taylor, Pearson, Galas.
Histon appear to have a fully fit squad ahead of the new campaign.
Blyth picked up a number of injuries during the pre-season but, thankfully, most of the players seemed to have recovered. Chris Emms and Matt Hunter are still a couple of weeks away from full fitness, so both miss out the season opener. Tom Kindley is also unavailable, as is Phil Bannister, who is still awaiting international clearance from the FA.
Lee Mason, Matt Crook and Neal Hooks are all doubts at the moment, but manager Steve Cuggy is hopeful that they can all be involved.
Match Preview
Manager Steve Cuggy begins his reign at Blyth with a visit to recently-relegated side Histon.
There have been many changes at Blyth over the summer – both on the field and off it – and Cuggy’s new look squad will hope that Histon are still hurting from their demotion from the Conference Premier.
Cuggy said: “Personally, I think it’s a good time to play them as, hopefully, they might still be suffering from a ‘Relegation hangover’, and so the game could be quite interesting.
Spartans face the daunting prospect of a 480-mile round trip, but Cuggy insists his players will not be fazed by the travelling.
He said: “A lot has been said about how the travelling might affect us. We know we have 20 trips (at least) this season and I have no problem with being on a bus with a good group of mates for any amount of time.”
Like Blyth, Histon will be looking to get off to a good start in their first season in the Blue Square North and will hope that their home advantage gives them the edge in this season opener.
In the Opposing Dugout
David Livermore
Livermore’s playing career began as an Arsenal trainee, but never played a first-team game. He then went on to have a seven-year spell with Millwall, where he made 312 appearances. Livermore also represented Hull City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Barnet.
Histon is his first job in management, having signed back in August 2010. He is also still listed on their books as a midfielder and made an appearance in their last pre-season friendly, lasting 30 minutes against arch-rivals Cambridge United.
Danger Man
Omer Riza
Riza was signed on a non-contract basis in August 2010 by David Livermore, having known each other since their time in the Arsenal academy together.
Omer has had stints in Turkey with Denizlispor and Trabzonspor in the top flight of Turkish football, as well as having a spell with Cambridge United in League Two.
The forward topped Histon’s goal scoring charts last season, with a return of 12 goals from 35 Blue Square Premier appearances and will look to replicate his form this season.
Match Facts
Histon:
– This will be Histon’s first ever game in the Conference North, having played all their football at this level in the Conference South, before their promotion to the Conference Premier in 2005.
– If involved, Jorg Stadelmann, Calum Kitscha, Ollie Cleaver, Dan Holman, Danny Fitzimmons, Jay Dowie, Matt Breeze, Grant Roberts and Dallas Moore will make their first competitive appearances for Histon.
Blyth Spartans:
– This will be manager Steve Cuggy’s first competitive game in management.
– No less than 10 players (Max Johnson, David Coulson, Carl Jones, Michael Pearson, Dylan Purvis, Richard Slaughter, Adam Forster, Shaun Vipond, Graeme Armstrong and Glen Taylor) are in line to make their debuts for the Spartans.
– If selected, Liam Atkin and Wayne Phillips will make their first appearances since re-joining the club over the summer.
Last Time We Met
No previous meetings
Previous Clashes
No previous meetings
Mutual Friends
Phil Bell: (Histon: On trial 2006), (Blyth Spartans: 2007-2008)
Match Officials
Referee: S Ross
Assistants: S Meale & T Nield
Blue Square Bet Match Odds
Histon: 5/4
Draw: 12/5
Blyth Spartans: 7/4