26 Feb 2006 - Harry - Post Burscough - Pre Matlock

“A slog” was how Spartans Manager Harry Dunn, concisely, defined the win against Merseyside promotion hopefuls Burscough.

“It was a game where we could have dropped points” he said. “Towards the end we were under the cosh but defended well. It was always going to be difficult in a swirling wind although we certainly didn’t play well with the wind at our backs and the same could be said for Burscough. “We went to five at the back against the wind to try and structure things but really it wasn’t a great day to play football,” he added.

On a pale afternoon with a cruel wind making its presence felt there wasn’t a lot for the healthy crowd of over 400 to get warmed up about. “Having said that, nearing the end of the game we defended really well on the edge of our area on several occasions and keeper Craig Turns brought off two brilliant saves plus our winning goal was exceptional. I was especially pleased for the scorer Scott Bell as he has hit a rich vein of goalscoring form after a barren patch.”

Indeed the grey day was lightened by a brief shard of light as a perceptive ball from Blyth’s Fenton was taken on through a deceptive spin and run from Drager Man of the Match Robbie Dale. As Dunn commented – “class”. He also made the point that Liam Gildea did well in an unaccustomed midfield role especially bearing in mind that he was suffering from a particularly painful foot injury.

Looking towards next Saturday’s fixture away at Matlock Dunn was focused on the opposition. “They had a good win this weekend and are lying well placed so it won’t be easy for us. In midfield the lad Clark is a good player and they also have a couple of dangerous forwards in Barroclough and Cropper. “But we have strength in depth and are a different kettle of fish to last season. I would hope to have Alex Gildea back in contention following a stomach bug and defender Richard Forster made a brief, but welcome, return to action on Saturday. However I regret that Neil Wilkinson has had to return to Hartlepool following his loan period as he has been great for us and we will miss his long-throw ability as well as his overall defending qualities. As regards former Newcastle man Jamie McClen I expect the situation vis a vis a possible move to Shrewsbury Town to be sorted out early this week.”

With Croft Park supporters starting to think a play off place for a move up to the Conference North a real possibility how does the Blyth boss see the situation? “I never like to count my chickens . . . but the playoffs are a realistic target” he said. “To be honest I would be very disappointed if we don’t achieve that. But it won’t be straightforward with Witton and Matlock potentially joining the pack, plus we need to steer clear of injuries. “Our crowd of over 400 on Saturday was excellent and I like to think that should we continue the way we are that over 500 we be flocking to see us soon as we push for promotion.”