Crushing victory in last league game of the season sees Blyth Spartans stay up

Spartans players acknowledge the crowd after their victory against Hereford saw them remain in the National League North for another season. Picture: Bill Broadley

Before Saturday’s (April 29) match, Spartans’ record against Hereford was abysmal, played seven, lost seven, but they knew they had to win and hope either Kettering Town or Farsley Celtic lost to ensure they stayed in the National League North.

After a topsy-turvy season where goals had been hard to come by, they fired five past Hereford’s keeper in an emphatic win that saw them stay up and Kettering relegated after they lost away at Kidderminster.

Manager Graham Fenton made six changes to the team that lost to Morpeth in the Northumberland Senior Cup and, in front of a crowd of more than 1,500, the first 10 minutes were very tense.

Michael Spellman calmed everyone’s nerves when he fired Spartans into the lead in the 16th minute, before Cedric Main got the second from a cross by captain Nicky Deverdics.

In a dominant first-half display by Spartans, Hereford had to wait until the 39th minute for their first real effort on goal, when Miley Storey saw his effort go wide.

Deverdics scored a penalty early in the second half after Main was brought down and minutes later Hereford’s job got even harder when they were reduced to 10 men.

JJ O’Donnell was on the scoresheet for Spartans’ fourth before Jaden Ferguson slotted home the fifth.

A delighted Fenton said after the match that he was “so proud” of his players, although he’s been “a little bit harsh on them at times this season”.

Commenting on the opening spell of the match, he said the players “couldn’t string two passes together”, but the first goal “settled everyone down”.

He added all the goals were “brilliant” and that it was a “real top performance”.

Analysing the season as a whole, Fenton said the club had been badly hit by injuries to key players so it had been a “magnificent achievement” to avoid relegation.

However, he didn’t want the club to be one that celebrates finishing sixth from bottom and that the rebuilding starts now.

He also thanked the supporters, who had been “magnificent” all season, especially as “we’ve chucked a lot of points away”, and everyone involved with the club.