Spartans keep clean sheet in win over Gloucester

O’Donnell struck his 10th goal of the season on 15 minutes, before Thomson fired in 10 minutes from time to seal the points.

The victory lifted Blyth to 17th place in the National League North table with 21 points from 21 games played and on Saturday they will be hoping to make further progress when they take on 12th placed Alfreton Town (away)..

Following Saturday’s victory, a delighted manager Terry Mitchell said: “That’s three wins in a row at home which is great for the supporters.

"It was also nice to keep a clean sheet as it is the first since I came to the club and it was built on a solid defensive performance.

"With the ball it wasn’t our best game, but sometimes you have to scrap to get a result.

"Naturally I am always looking for improvement.”

Spartans made four changes to their starting line-up and Mitchell said it was all about freshening things up.

And of this weekend’s game against Alfreton he added: “Alfreton are a good side.. We beat them earlier in the season, but they have kicked on since then and I am expecting a tough game.

"We need to start improving our away form though and we will go into the game full of confidence.”

Skipoper Nathan Buddle said: “It was a win we needed, a massive result, but we have to keep our feet on the ground.

"We can take in the victory today, but our away form hasn’t been the best and we know that we need to take some confidence from this and kick on against Alfreton.”

Meanwhile, Spartans have signed Sunderland defender Patrick Almond on loan until the end of the season. The 19 year0old has so far made one appearance for the Black Cats and has been tipped by their manager Lee Johnson as having a bright future after some impressive displays for Sunderland’s U23s.

The defender’s arrival is the first since Mitchell joined the Croft Park club in early December and he said it will make more competition for places.