Morpeth Town assistant Jamie Armstrong 'extremely happy' after 4-0 Stocksbridge Park triumph

Morpeth Town assistant manager Jamie Armstrong has admitted that he was “extremely happy” with his side’s performance following their 4-0 demolition of Stocksbridge Park Steels on Saturday afternoon.

The Highwaymen remain third in the NPL East table, just three points adrift of leaders Bradford Park Avenue, having extended their unbeaten run to 10 league matches.

Town found themselves three up at the interval, thanks to strikes from James Baggs, Mitch Hancox, and Adam Lennox, and would kick on again after the break, adding a fourth through Luke James.

Speaking after the final whistle, Armstrong hailed Morpeth for a ruthless attacking display that keeps them firmly in the promotion hunt. When asked for his feelings on the contest, he said: “Extremely happy. I thought the boys were fantastic today. Probably started off the game, first sort of 15 to 20 minutes, we were a little bit slow and caused our own problems, really.

“But after that I thought it was fantastic. Some of the football was really, really good. It was really pleasing to see, and we thoroughly deserved the win.”

Reflecting on Town’s ongoing unbeaten run, Armstrong suggested that while it is pleasing to see his side string so many positive results together, he is also fully aware of the need for the club to stay grounded at such an early stage of the campaign.

He said: “We have momentum, yeah. I think we sort of deserved it [the win] for the performance on Tuesday [a 0-0 draw against Ossett United]. It was very worthy of a win, to be honest - we just sort of lacked that little bit of luck.

“But we have momentum... Look, nothing's decided in October. We've had a good start to the season, and we're just looking to take it game by game, really - but we want to be as high up as we can.”

Armstrong also reserved praise for Morpeth’s emerging crop of young talent, with the Highwaymen finishing Saturday’s match with half a dozen academy graduates on the pitch. He added: “I mean, it's sort of where we are as a squad and as a team at the minute, with all the injuries and people going missing.

“But it's fantastic for the academy lads, and the boys who have come in today have really played a part in the victory, and have been fantastic. We really deserved the win, and the accolades that come with the academy. It's been fantastic for the club today.”