Plastic fantastic for new Morpeth pitch

The new facility was used for the first time in a competitive fixture when Town took on Bamber Bridge.

Unfortunately, Morpeth lost 3-1 – their fourth successive defeat at the start of the new Northern Premier League season – but for the club, the unveiling of the pitch was a major step forward.

Chairman Ken Beattie described it as ‘the next step in our evolution as a football club.’

Beattie was delighted to see the completion of a project which has been overseen by PST Sport.

“This is a major step forward for the club,” he said.

The Highwaymen are keen to develop a community hub, allowing children and adults to play on a quality all-weather surface throughout the week while also providing a state of the art surface for our first team and academy teams to play and train on.

Beattie added: “This is the route to success and is designed to bring the whole community together and encourage youngsters to want to develop into top class players in non-league, the Football League and beyond.

“This is a step forward for the whole community.

“The vision is every night the pitch is busy and parents are coming to watch, using the facilities and enjoying the experience of watching their children play football, with adults coming to keep fit by playing football too.”

The community aspect is a key driving motivation, with little like this available in Morpeth. It will also provide a revenue stream for the club.

“You’ve got both sides of it; the fundraising aspect which is very important to get this club self-sufficient and the community hub aspect which is important for our role as part of the town which we are proud to represent,” Beattie added.

“Morpeth hasn’t got anything like this.

“Equally as important are the facilities around it; it’s not just about the middle of the field with a green cage around it. It has facilities so people can feel part of it too. I think it is a major step forward for us as a club and football in the town.”