After seeing his side overturn a two goal half time deficit at Buxton, Blyth Spartans centre back Danny Parker revealed that he always believed that the Croft Park club would get the three points they wanted from their trip to the Peak District. A poor first half show from Tom Wade’s men saw them head into the interval two goals behind their in-form hosts but a second half brace from Dan Maguire, coupled with Steven Turnbull’s second goal for the club ensured that the points came back to Northumberland with Spartans, something Parker felt was deserved.
“As soon as we scored the first one we knew and we said at half time that if we could get that first goal we would go on and win the game. Obviously it’s easy to say that after the game but we always believed. We scored three goals in ten minutes and that put them under serious pressure for the first time in the game. We deserved the win in the end”
First half goals from Bucks debutant Ash Burbeary and striker Liam Hardy meant that Parker and his team mates faced an uphill battle in the second half at Silverlands. The former Motherwell and Bishop Auckland centre back was honest in his assessment of his side’s performance in the first half and pointed to the work rate of striker Dan Maguire as the main reason that the tide turned in a stereotypical game of two halves in Derbyshire.
“First half we couldn’t get close to them and we know we weren’t tight enough. There was a lot of pressure on the back four, there was nobody winning the second ball and that just meant the pressure increased. We weren’t good enough, we do know that and at half time we said we needed to pressure them higher up the pitch. Nipa’s (Dan Maguire) movement made the difference in the second half because he allowed our midfield to get involved in the game”
For the second game in a row Parker partnered Ryan Hutchinson at the heart of the Spartans defence as he looks to make the most of Nathan Buddle’s departure to SkyBet League Two side Carlisle United. The twenty four year old defender paid tribute to former Celtic youth player Hutchinson and expressed his hope that the pair could “continue to work well together”.
“In the Frickley game we worked well together and that continued at Buxton I think. Ryan(Hutchinson) is a solid lad, a very solid centre half and he does the basics very well. Given that he has come to the club as a centre midfielder he understands the role at centre half very well and I think we can continue to work well together”