Spartans take heart for Rangers

Blyth Spartans boss Tom Wade thinks the 3-0 scoreline suffered by side in Tuesday's defeat at Hednesford flattered the hosts, writes Philip Castiaux.

Wade's men face a long trip to Stafford on Saturday in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League's Premier Division after the reverse at Keys Park to the title-chasing Pitmen.

Wade said: "Conceding after a couple of minutes put us on the back foot. It was a soft goal but after that we competed really well for the rest of the half. At half time I was confident we’d get something from the match. We created chances, some really good ones too, which should have been converted. It’s a bit of a worry really.

"Hednesford are a good strong side and very good defensively. We had players missing and it was a massive journey but we didn’t deserve the score line. It was all the more disappointing after our good win over Worksop on Saturday. We need to work on achieving consecutive victories."

Wade, who is now preparing his side for their next challenge at Marston Road on Saturday, added: "I’m pretty confident about the weekend. We’ll need to get the best out of the lads and we should be ok if we can."