Blyth Spartans advance to next round of FA Trophy with Wythenshawe victory

Blyth Spartans advanced through the FA Trophy Second Round Qualifying with a convincing 4-0 win over Wythenshawe on Saturday afternoon.

A first-half flurry saw Jordan Hickey, Ewan McGowan, and Dan Lanning get themselves on the scoresheet before Rio Joisce sealed a rampant victory after the break.

Spartans started brightly, and opened the scoring inside 20 minutes after the ball fell to Hickey on the edge of the area, who lined up a strike and smashed his effort home.

The visitors’ lead was doubled just after the half-hour mark when Hickey found Lanning in space. The striker’s shot deflected off the post and into the path of McGowan, who slotted home.

Blyth’s stellar first half was complete in the 36th minute as Lanning pinched the ball off the Ammies’ goalkeeper and converted into an empty goal.

Things went from bad to worse for the home side in the second half as they were reduced to 10 men in the 65th minute after Joao Silva laid hands on Hickey, leaving the referee with little choice but to dismiss him.

Spartans then capitalised on their extra man advantage to make it four as Jordan Summerly laid the ball into Joisce, whose effort went in off the post.

Marc Nash’s side have been rewarded for their success in Greater Manchester with an away trip to face Workington AFC in the Third Round Qualifying. That fixture is set to take place on Saturday, September 26th.