Presentation evening ends Blyth Spartans' eventful season

Keeper Alex Mitchell receives his Supporters' Player of the Season award from Ian Herdwick, of the supporters club. Picture: Blyth Spartans

The presentation took place after Spartans secured National League North survival with a thumping 5-0 win against Hereford, thanks to goals by Michael Spellman, Cedric Main, captain Nicky Deverdics, JJ O’Donnell and youngster Jaden Ferguson, who only signed for the club at the end of March.

Goalkeeper Alex Mitchell was named the Supporters’ Player of the Year and was presented with his trophy by Ian Hertwick, of the Supporters Club.

Mitchell was the only player to play every minute of the club’s 55 games in the 2022/23 season.

The Players’ Player of the Year award went to Jordan Hickey.

He was presented with his trophy by Deverdics, who then went on to give the packed hospitality room his overview of the season.

Throughout the season, manager Graham Fenton has complained about the team’s inability to score goals and this was reflected in the end-of-season goalscoring statistics.

Cedric Main finished as the club’s top scorer with 11 goals, of which five came in cup matches.

Deverdics was the club’s top scorer in the league, scoring seven, including a penalty in the win against Hereford.

Fenton was named Vanarama National League North manager of the week after the club’s win over Hereford and Deverdics was named in the league’s team of the week, to end the season on a high.

The club averaged a crowd of 786 for league games and had an average attendance of 1,051 over all 55 games.

The highest crowd was for the visit of Wrexham in the FA Cup, which was watched by 2,787 people, and the lowest was for the league visit of Chorley, which attracted a crowd of 501.

The season started badly for Spartans as manager Terry Mitchell left in August with the club third from bottom, and assistant manager Graeme Coulson left to join the staff at Newcastle United’s academy.

The club turned to former player Fenton, giving him a two-year deal, and he was in the dugout to see the team secure a battling 1-1 draw against Chorley, before taking the reins properly for the 2-0 win against Gloucester.

Supporters will be hoping he can help the team to more results like that now he has had longer to work with the players.