Blyth Spartans advance to First Round Proper of FA Youth Cup

Blyth Spartans booked their place in the First Round Proper of the FA Youth Cup with a commanding 4-1 win over Stockton Town on Thursday evening.

A hat-trick from Jake Taylor set the tone for a superb display, with the hosts racing into a 2-0 lead by the interval at Croft Park, and then kicking on again after the break with two more strikes.

Spartans made a perfect start to the contest, with Taylor firing them in front after just five minutes. From there, Joe Campbell went agonisingly close to doubling their advantage, but could only nod a Spencer Ashcroft corner wide of the target at the back post.

Shortly before half-time, however, Dan Cole would put Blyth two to the good, reacting fastest in the box after an initial Taylor effort was parried back into a dangerous area by the Stockton goalkeeper.

Just after the break, Taylor would then net his second - and Spartans’ third - of the tie, racing past his defender before finishing coolly into the bottom corner.

Minutes later, McKenzie Gibson came within a whisker of adding a fourth, hitting the woodwork from the edge of the area, before Taylor completed his hat-trick just after the half-hour mark to put the game beyond Stockton’s reach, despite their 65th minute consolation strike.

Spartans will now go into the pot for the First Round Proper, with ties due to be played by Saturday, October 31st. The draw for the next round will be made in the coming days, with a number of Third Round Qualifying matches still to be played.