Morpeth Town boss relishing Blyth Spartans FA Cup tie

Morpeth Town manager Craig Lynch believes the pressure will be on FA Cup preliminary round opponents Blyth Spartans when the Northumberland rivals meet at Croft Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Highwaymen boss experienced a hectic summer as he made a number of changes to his squad as they looked to bounce back from suffering relegation from the Northern Premier League Premier Division last season.

That brought an end to their seven-year stay in Step 3 and ensured they joined a number of their North East rivals in the NPL East Division this season. A league derby with Spartans is on the agenda later this month – but an eagerly anticipated FA Cup tie is the focus for both sides this weekend.

Lynch, who had a nine-month spell at Spartans during his playing career, believes the FA Cup can bring pressure for his old club and is hopeful his current employers can secure a place in Monday’s first qualifying round draw and the financial boost that will come as a reward.

He told The NLP: “It’s a big occasion for everyone involved.  Blyth will get a big crowd, we will take a few and when you’re away in the FA Cup you can get two results so the pressure is on Blyth.  We can win the game or we can get a draw and get them back to Craik Park for a replay on Tuesday night.

“Hopefully, we can get the job done on Saturday because we know what this competition can do.  The FA Cup, if you win a few games, the attendances go up.  If you get a league game where there are 300 or 400 there, you can get over 1,000 in the FA Cup.  We’ve seen that before with playing York City, Boston United and Southport in the FA Cup and FA Trophy and that’s massive.  We know how important the FA Cup is from a financial and football point of view and that’s why we are looking forward to going to Blyth this weekend.”

Momentum

Morpeth had made a slow start to the new season by claiming just one point from away days at Ashington and Pontefract Collieries and last weekend’s home game with Matlock Town. However, the importance of a well-timed home win against West Auckland Town in midweek is not lost on Lynch as he prepares his players for the visit to Spartans.

He said: “It gives us a bit of momentum. We deserved a win earlier but we have been done with a red card and a penalty in previous games. We weren’t at our best in midweek but it was important to get that first win to get your head right with a long season ahead.”

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