Connor proud of ten-man Blyth Spartans despite Hyde United defeat

Michael Connor revealed his pride over the spirit shown by ten-man Blyth Spartans after they fell to a home defeat against Northern Premier League Premier Division play-off hopefuls Hyde United.

There were just 20 minutes on the clock when Connor’s side were reduced to ten men after on-loan Gateshead midfielder Connor Pani was shown a straight red card for bringing down Hyde captain Jack Redshaw as he made his way in on goal. The Tigers skipper actually proved to be the tormentor-in-chief during the game as he provided a constant threat to the Spartans backline.

Adam Richardson provided something of a one-man barrier for Spartans as the on-loan Sunderland goalkeeper made several eye-catching saves during the first-half to deny Redshaw and visitors striker Ewan Bange. The crossbar came to Spartans rescue on the one occasion Richardson was beaten as a stunning long-range volley from danger man Redshaw struck the woodwork before the loose ball was scrambled to safety.

After enjoying the better of the opening moments of the second-half, Spartans fell behind seven minutes after the restart as Redshaw finally got the goal his performance deserved with a cool finish beyond the helpless Richardson after he had collected a pass from substitute Matthew Fearnley. To their credit, Spartans remained in the game until the final whistle and came close to securing a point as substitute Mitch Curry struck the post within second of his introduction before diverting a deflected from over the bar from around six yards out.

There were also a number of penalty shouts that Connor felt were more than credible as defensive duo Ben Fell and Ben Milburn were brought down in the area. Referee Neal Templey waved away appeals on every occasion - although the Spartans boss revealed the official admitted he may have made an error in the aftermath of the game. Despite bemoaning his side’s misfortune, Connor was keen to focus on the positives as he praised his young players for the desire and attitude they showed during a testing afternoon.

He told The Gazette: “At some point the luck has to change but I am super proud of them because this is a side full of young players when you take out the likes of Michael Woods and Ryan Donaldson. They are learning their trade in a tough league in a team that are in a tough position and I am super proud of them all today. The work we are doing with them is starting to give a bit of structure and we are going at teams in the last 20 minutes of games. There is a lot to come from them and we will keep working hard to get more players in to help these lads out - but I am super proud of them all today because they put in a real effort."

Spartans are back on home soil on Tuesday night when FC United of Manchester are the visitors to Croft Park.

Blyth Spartans: A Richardson, Oliver, Myers, Pani, Burn, Fell, Giraud (Storey), Woods (Donaldson), Gordon, Hodgson (Curry), S Richardson (Holvey) Subs: Hogan

Hyde United: Hiddleson, Ditchfield, Thompson, Spooner, Baker, Amado, Kershaw (Fearnley), Jones-Griffiths, Bange (Heath), Redshaw, Bunn (Scanlon) Subs: Quadri, Byrne