Blyth Spartans kick on again with 5-1 thrashing of Beverley Town

Blyth Spartans comprehensively defeated 10-man Beverley Town 5-1 at Croft Park on Halloween, thanks in large part to a Ewan McGowan hat-trick.

Paul Dudgeon and Dan Lanning were also on the score-sheet for Spartans, with Jack Watson scoring a consolation goal for the Beavers.

Marc Nash’s side were ahead inside 14 minutes; a chipped ball was played in behind Beverley’s backline, and McGowan was on hand to slot home with a side-footed finish.

Spartans doubled their lead not long after, with McGowan again finding the back of the net. Jordan Summerly slipped Jack Foalle in behind, and the forward delivered a wicked cross into the path of his oncoming teammate, who slammed home at the near post.

In the 33rd minute, Blyth had their third, with Foalle involved again - this time delivering a deep cross into the box which was attacked by Dudgeon, who headed the ball into the top corner.

Tempers flared as the referee blew for half-time, with Beavers skipper Matt Plummer and a member of the visiting coaching staff seemingly frustrated with someone from the Spartans side. Jordan Hickey and Plummer were booked after the melee.

Blyth, for their part, started the second half in even better style. Foalle was at the heart of the action once more, claiming his third assist of the afternoon as he played a beautiful weighted pass for Lanning to latch onto, and the striker showed excellent composure to finish at the near post.

With 15 minutes left to play, Beverley stopper Leigh Overton made the mistake of the game. A long pass forward was bouncing towards the goalkeeper, but under pressure from an oncoming Lanning, he stepped out of his box before catching the ball. The referee wasted no time in brandishing a red card, and with no substitute goalkeeper on the bench for the Beavers, Ethan Bojang was given the gloves to close the game out.

From the resulting free-kick McGowan completed his hat-trick, with a thunderous effort taking a slight deflection on the way through leaving Bojang with no chance of making the save.

Beverley did get their consolation goal in the 87th minute through Watson, who showed great composure to beat the Spartans defence and slot home past Callum Dobson.

The victory lifts Spartans up to fourth in the NPL East after Pontefract Collieries lost to Heaton Stannington. Meanwhile, Beverley remain inside the bottom three, and are three points away from safety.