Blyth Spartans inability to defend corners, cost them dear, as they were trounced 5-1 at Harrogate Town.
Simon Weaver shuffled his pack after Good Friday’s game at Brackley, promoting Jake Wright to lead the line, Ryan Fallowfield to replace Liam Kitching and recalling Terry Kennedy onto the sub’s bench.
Wright made an immediate impact when he got his head to Fallowfield’s long clearance and forced Peter Jameson to tip the ball over his bar.
Town kept up the pressure with Jack Emmett racing down the left, before finding Wright who drove low across goal.
On ten minutes,Town took a deserved lead when Blyth’s,Ryan Hutchinson, conceded a corner and JohnMcCombe ventured forward to head home Joe Leesley’s inswinger.
The visitors began to claw their way into the game and skipper,Robert Dale,forced James Belshaw to turn his effort for a corner, which Nathan Buddle headed wide of the upright.
Jordan Laider gave Town an anxious moment when he rattled the crossbar from distance, but it was Town who doubled their lead, when Wright headed in another Leesley corner after thirtysix minutes.
Town’s joy was shortlived,however,because within three minutes,Sean Reid reduced the arrears when he was on hand to sidefoot in Dale’s long centre over the Town defence.
It was a pivotal point of the match,because Town quickly restored their two goal cushion with a minute left in the half, when,once again, Blyth failed to deal with a corner and Dom Knowles got the final touch after a goalmouth scramble.
Blyth suffered a blow early in the second half when Hutchinson was stretchered off the field after sustaining an injury.
Then with only eight minutes of the second period played, Town increased their lead through George Thomson who latched on to a Knowles through ball and slid the ball past Jameson.
For the majority of the four figure crowd,the best was yet to come.
With twenty minutes left,Wright picked up a long pass on the left before cutting inside and lashing a tremendous cross shot into the far corner,to score one of the goals of the season.
Jordan Thewlis,who had replaced Wright, twice fashioned late chances for Emmett, but the first was palmed away by Jameson and the second was just off target.
This result puts Town in good heart for Saturday’s intriguing trip to York City.
Town
Belshaw,Fallowfield,Parker,Falkingham(c),Burrell,McCombe(Kennedy 81),Thomson,Emmett,Wright(Thewlis 74),Knowles(Agnew 62),Leesley.
Unused subs,Cracknell,Beck. Booked Leesley Att.1044
Scorers,McCombe 10,Wright 36,69.Knowles 44,Thomson 53. Man of the Match Wright.
Blyth Spartans,
Jameson,Gorman,Liddle M,Mullen,Buddle,Hutchinson(Watson 51),Rivers(McTiernan 82),Laidler,Langstaff(Wrightson 66),Reid,Dale(c).
Unused subs,Liddle B,MacDonald. Booked Gorman
Scorer, Reid 39
Referee,J Bell.
By John Harrison.
