The Green Army are back in the North East again this week, after drawing Blyth Spartans in the Emirates FA Cup 2QR.
TICKETS
The match will kick off at 3pm at Croft Park, and you can click here to purchase tickets now!
Tickets can also be purchased on the turnstiles at Croft Park.
TRAVEL INFORMATION (From Football Ground Guide)
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.
Postcode for SatNav: NE24 3JE
HOW ARE WE?
Mark Bower’s Squad have had a decent start to the Northern Premier League season, pulling off wins against Morpeth Town and Ilkeston Town at home, and sharing points with Guiseley and Bamber Bridge to gain 8 points from 7 games, and up until last Saturday (9th Sept) the team were on a 5 match unbeaten run after also beating Consett in the 1RQ of the FA Cup. As of 12/09, Avenue sit 16th in the League.
It was FC United of Manchester who broke the run, beating Avenue 2-0 at Broadhurst Park. We spoke to First Team Manager Mark Bower after the match
He reflected on the match, saying;
“We weren’t quite at it, we were loose in possession and gave the ball away while under no pressure. We were just that half-a-yard off it today.”
Talking on the FA Cup draw, Mark said;
“Well, they’re the the highest position team we could have possibly drawn at this stage, but we’ve been up there and had some good results over the last couple of years. We will have to have to be better than today (FC United (A), certainly when in possession, as Blyth play some good stuff and will pull us apart if we are wasteful.”
Click here for Mark’s Full interview following Avenue’s 2-0 loss to FCUM on Saturday 9th September
HOW ARE THEY?
Graham Fenton’s Blyth Spartans have had an excellent start to their National League North season, gaining 15 points from their opening 9 games, winning 5 and losing 4. The Spartans currently sit inside the playoffs at 6th.
Just last Tuesday, The Spartans recorded their biggest win of the season against our neighbours Farsley Celtic, playing out a 4-0 thrashing of the Celts at Croft Park.
Blyth come into the game following a 2-1 defeat away at Chester. Following the defeat, Graham Fenton spoke on the FA Cup Draw, saying
“We have to get ourselves where we’re 10-15% better than we were today. We know what Bradford are like, they always pose questions and make it difficult, but we’re looking forward to being back and at home.”
You can watch Graham’s full interview following Blyth’s 2-1 defeat to Chester here.
FROM THE ARCHIVES – TIM CLAPHAM
Avenue and Blyth Spartans have previously met on 20 occasions.
Seventeen of these have been in league football and three in cup competitions. The odd number of league meetings was caused when the 2019-20 season was curtailed because of the Covid epidemic and the return fixture at Blyth was not played.
Avenue’s record against the Spartans is quite good with nine wins, five draws and six defeats. The three previous cup meetings were in the Northern Premier League Cup between 1998 and 2002, with Spartans winning both ties played at Croft Park by 3-1 and 4-0, however in Jan 2002 Avenue gained some revenge when Andy Hayward scored four times in a 7-1 victory at Horsfall Stadium in the quarter-finals.
Avenue have won on four occasions in the league at Croft Park. In fact Mark Bower’s men have won the last three meetings in the north-east by 2-1, 3-1 and 1-0, all matches being played on a Tuesday evening.
When the teams meet in the FA Cup it will not be under the Croft Park floodlights. Hopefully this will not have an undue effect on the Avenue team!