Blyth Spartans exited the FA Cup after falling to a 1-0 defeat against Redcar Athletic.

Marc Nash’s side ended the day a man down after Robbie Spence was shown a red card midway through the second period.

That dismissal made their task of overhauling a one-goal deficit, which they had faced since just the third minute when Joe Taylor put the hosts ahead, even more difficult than it had once been against a team from the division above.

Blyth did threaten an equaliser, with Dan Lanning seeing an effort cannon off the crossbar before opposition goalkeeper, Will Cowey, making a string of impressive saves to preserve his clean sheet.

Blyth Spartans crashed out of the FA Cup with a 1-0 defeat against Redcar Athletic.

placeholder image — Blyth Spartans crashed out of the FA Cup with a 1-0 defeat against Redcar Athletic.

Spartans’ dreams of progressing in the competition that has made them famous the country over, were all-but ended just after the hour mark, though, when Spence was shown a straight red card for a dangerous challenge.

That, according to Nash, was the killer-blow for his side: “The red card absolutely kills us,” Nash said post-match.

“It killed any chance we had of getting momentum. We made subs to freshen it up, bringing off some physicality and bringing on ball players, but we couldn’t get control of the game and we didn’t show enough personality.”

Nash added: “I don’t know how we didn’t score in the first half.

“Their keeper has pulled off two worldie saves and we’ve hit the bar.

“We need that clinical edge. We created opportunities but we’ve got to start taking them.

“I wasn’t happy at half-time, not at all. It feels like we’ve been here before.

“We come off the back of a positive performance and then turn in something completely different.”

Despite defeat in the FA Cup this weekend, Spartans have another opportunity to turn their fortunes around in a cup competition this weekend when they face Wythenshawe in the FA Trophy.

Wythenshawe, however, will be a stern test for Nash's side with the Manchester-based side having taken ten points from their first five games of the Northern Premier League West division - conceding just six times in the process.

Kick-off at the Avensure Community Stadium In Wythenshawe is at 3pm on Saturday afternoon.