Blyth Town aim to 'keep pushing forward' in bid for historic Northern Premier League promotion

Gavin Fell can sense the momentum building as Blyth Town aim to secure a first ever promotion into the Northern Premier League on Friday night.

After ending the season sat in fifth place in the Northern League Division One side, Fell’s men moved to within 90 minutes of a potentially historic promotion as a Dan Wilson striker and an Aaron Cunningham own-goal helped Town to a 2-1 play-off semi-final win at Shildon.

A trip to Newcastle Blue Star lies in wait on Friday as two sides promoted from the league’s second tier now face off in a bid to land consecutive promotions. For Fell and everyone involved in the Gateway Park setup, the journey from Northern Alliance to the brink of the fourth tier of the non-league game has been a long one - but one that has its roots in the sheer dedication and hard work of key figures within the club.

The Town boss is now keep to build on the ‘incredible’ progress that has been made in recent seasons by leading the club into their highest ever position within the non-league game.

He told The Gazette: “I said to people last Saturday after our semi-final win at Shildon that reaching the final in our first season in Division One is testament to all of the hard work at the club. That’s not just us as players and coaches, that’s everyone from the chairman, Sandra Orr, all of the volunteers, everyone.

“We had momentum from the promotion last season but we had to build on that on the pitch and off it. Scott (Douglas, chairman) and Santa have built a real community club and it’s always buzzing on match days. The progress behind the scenes really is incredible and we just want to keep pushing forwards on it.

“Friday is hopefully the next part of that and I saw an update from Blue Star saying over 1,200 tickets had been sold already. We have a couple of busses going there and if the opportunity comes we will have another bus on. It’s a really tasty game for the Northern League and I’m sure both clubs will play their part.”

Your next non-league read: Ashington bosses say win on last day of the season was 'for the fans'