Ewan McGowan strike secures Blyth Spartans victory over North Ferriby

Blyth Spartans defeated North Ferriby 1-0 on their return to Croft Park over the weekend as Ewan McGowan’s superb solo goal separated the two sides on a blustery Northumberland afternoon.

Tensions grew around the ground as both teams failed to register an effort on target during the first half hour, but Spartans came closest to opening the scoring through Jordan Hickey, who fired an effort just wide from 20 yards out.

Marc Nash’s side eventually made their breakthrough five minutes later through McGowan. The tricky midfielder picked up the ball deep in The Villagers’ half before dancing past three defenders and slamming a shot beyond Jonathan Dash.

Similar to the first half, both sides struggled to find any rhythm after the restart, with the conditions playing a big part in the game. Blyth came close to doubling their lead through Rhys Evans as the attacking full-back picked up the ball on the edge of the area but fired his effort just over the stanchion.

Chris Bolder’s visitors almost found an equaliser minutes later when a dangerous ball was delivered into the box and Brandon Murillo forced a reaction save out of Callum Dobson.

Positive substitutions from Marc Nash then changed the momentum of the game once again in Blyth’s favour, and Paul Dudgeon found space in the Ferriby box, only for his shot to be well-stopped by Dash.

After three consecutive away games, Saturday’s win was the perfect return home for Spartans, who are set to face Ossett United at Croft Park on Tuesday evening.