Bring it on! That’s the spirit in the camp as the Shakers face the long journey to the North East tomorrow to face Blyth Spartans in the FA Cup.
Yes, they’re a club with a great history and in a higher league. But we have already seen off three teams from a higher division in earlier rounds and have nothing to fear.
And another Yes – we struggled against Isle of Man last weekend. But that last kick draw with two of our players in the sin bin boosted morale on and off the pitch. And we go into this cup game on the back of a thoroughly professional 4-2 win at Glossop Town on Tuesday.
The Glossop game proved the value of having a squad of players with strength in depth. Three changes enabled some to be rested and added fresh legs to a group of players who’d had a tough weekend.
In Opposition – Blyth Spartans
Despite a stunning history dating back to 1889, the Northumberland coastal town team are struggling in the Northern Premier League. They have won only one and drawn two of their eight games, and currently lie second to bottom.
Getting through to this round of the cup was a struggle after they went one down in their Wednesday night home replay against Yorkshire amateur side Campion AFC. Blyth equalised in the second half, but the game went into extra time even after the Bradford team’s goalkeeper was shown a red card. They finally ran out 3-1 winners.
The 1-1 draw in Bradford last Saturday was David Stockdale’s first match as interim manager. Afterwards, he said: “The main thing for me was the character that came out of it…Nobody is going to say it was a great performance, but it was a good performance in terms of character and determination, which is what I asked of them.”
Stockdale has since been installed as permanent first team manager. Click here to read more.
Tickets
This game is ALL TICKET & SEGREGATED for AWAY Supporters – click HERE to purchase
Ticket Prices:
- Adults: £12.00
- Concessions (Over 65): £7.00
- 11-16 year olds / Students: £5.00
- U10’s: Free
Tickets subject to booking fee.
Programme Price: £2
Travel & Parking
Our Supporters Coaches are SOLD OUT – departing Gigg Lane at 10am.
Travel by Train: The nearest railway station is Cramlington, which is served by trains from Newcastle Central and Morpeth. However, Cramlington is located five miles away from Croft Park and a taxi from here will cost you approximately £11.50 (Phoenix Taxis).
Travel by Bus: You can take an X9 bus half hourly from Cramlington to Blyth, this takes approximately 40 minutes. An alternative might be to get off at Newcastle Central Station and take a 20 minute walk to Haymarket Bus Station and take an X10/X11 to Blyth. This journey takes roughly 1 hour.
Travel by Car:
From the North
From the A189 (Spine Road) take the A193 (Cowpen Road) exit and follow this into Blyth, continue on the A193 as it becomes The Broadway. Continue on the A193 at The Broadway Circle roundabout and take the next left on to Plessey Road. The ground will be on your left.
From the South
Exit the A19 onto the A189 (Spine Road) at the Annitsford Roundabout. After two miles exit onto the A1061 (signed A192 Seaton Delaval, Cramlington and Blyth Beach. Follow the A1061 for approximately three miles and exit left onto the A193. Turn right at the second roundabout onto Plessey Road as above.
Parking is freely available on the surrounding streets but please park sensibly and respect the local residents.
In the Ground
Facilities:
Segregation is rarely in place but for high profile games visiting supporters are accommodated in the Plessey Road Stand where up to 1,200 fans can be housed in this covered terrace. In addition, a number of seats will also be made available in The Port Of Blyth Stand. Refreshments in the ground are usually supplied from a burger van which serves chips and burgers.
Sat Nav Postcode: NE24 3JE
WhatThreeWords: ///waters.cheek.origin
Match Coverage & Live Stream
If you are unable to make the game, we’ll have all the live coverage across our media platforms.
Live Stream: For this game, we will have no live stream. Keep up-to-date with all our video content via the club’s YouTube Channel. Click to subscribe and never miss highlights and match reaction across the season.
Audio Commentary: Roch Valley Radio will be providing commentary for this game. Click here ahead of kick-off to listen live. Audio commentary will be provided for every game of the season, so you will never miss a piece of the action.
Social Media: Our team will also bring you in-depth text commentary via the club ‘MatchDay Live‘ Twitter feed, with team news and half time and full time updates available also on Facebook and feel like you are there with our match galleries and imagery available over on Instagram.
Whatever the weather, wherever you are across the globe, we have you covered.
Up the Shakers!
