Blyth Town vs Birtley Town

Recap

Birtley were left to ruin a glorious opportunity as they conceded four goals in 25 minutes to fall to a 4-2 defeat at high-flying Blyth.

The Hoops started the game well and had the first real opportunity when a long throw-in from Sam Hedley was met by Scott Heslop but his reverse header was well saved. The game was very stop-start in the middle stages of the 1^st half as Matty Ward and Scott Heslop picked up yellow cards for minor offences. Birtley were ahead on 24 minutes. Jack Elliott was barged in the back in the area and James Proctor stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way

Birtley pressed to extend their lead in the dying stages of the first half but were unable to capitalise on the wind advantage despite numerous corners and set-pieces.

HALF TIME | Blyth Town 0 – 1 Birtley Town

On 47 minutes, Birtley broke free on the counter attack. Jack Elliott broke into the area and squared the ball to Scott Heslop who rolled his finish into the bottom corner to double Birtley’s lead. Birtley were soaking up pressure well and looking to hit Blyth on the break. The Hoops thought they had scored a third when Jack Elliott’s first time effort was brilliantly saved by Bulmer.

Blyth were back into the game on the hour mark. Adam Johnson was left completely unmarked from a corner and his near post flick was converted by Joseph Gibson. Birtley had a chance to regain their two goal advantage but Matty Ward was denied by Bulmer. On 67 minutes, a series of Birtley errors led to Liam Wotherspoon picking the ball up on the edge of the box. Wotherspoon smashing an unstoppable effort into the far corner.

Birtley once again had a glorious opportunity to regain the lead but Kyle Wharton blazed an effort over the bar. The comeback was complete on 73 minutes when Adam Johnson cut inside and found the bottom corner. The game was summed up by Blyth’s fourth goal on 85 minutes. A long direct free-kick was left unchallenged, Adam Johnson somehow finding time to bring the ball under control and fire home from the edge of the six yard box.

FULL TIME | Blyth Town 4 – 2 Birtley Town

A very difficult day for Birtley who, for the first 60 minutes, controlled the game. The Hoops however conceded four goals in the final third of the game and Birtley are now without a win in seven games. The upcoming Friday night fixture at Newcastle Blue Star is the first opportunity to bring that run to an end. 

Manager’s Corner

Reece Chapman: “Saturday is a tough one to take. We set up the lads to win the game with some very clear ideas and we delivered them fantastically for large parts of the game. In the first half we were the better side, we won most of the first and second balls in the middle of park and created a couple of really good opportunities. Again, at half time we tweaked a couple of things as we saw an area that we could get more joy, and the lads executed it brilliantly as we went two up very quickly in the second half. Disappointingly, we’ve then let Blyth into the game and they’re a good side they’ve created a few opportunities and capitalised on any little mistake we made. I don’t think the result reflects the overall game but that’s football, we know we’ve got to be better and more consistent within games and everyone is working to put that right. I get on with Micky (Blyth Town Manager) really well, so we wish them all the best and look forward to welcoming them to our place later in the season.”

H2H vs Blyth Town (at Gateway Park)
P3 W1 D2 L0 GF6 GA4

Next up…

Birtley travel to Newcastle Blue Star on Friday evening in a 7.30pm kick-off.

Highlights