Bishop’s Stortford 1-3 Blyth Spartans Match Report

Bishop’s Stortford 1-3 Blyth Spartans Match Report

6/1/24

Vanarama National League North

Hamish Arnold

Amadou Kassarate’s first Bishop’s Stortford goal wasn’t enough as Blyth Spartans won 1-3 at the RDA Stadium on Saturday in the Vanarama National League North. The Blues stay at the bottom of the league table after the first game in 2024, 13 points from safety.

Early on in the match, Blyth were dispossessed in midfield, and Kane Crichlow broke into the box, he cut inside the full back but the shot was straight at Dan Langley in goal, with Osman Sow waiting in space for a tap in. The Blues continued to apply pressure and took the lead in the 10th minute, with Kane Crichlow finding Kassarate on the edge of the box from a short corner, his low strike found the bottom left corner, with the visitors switching off before they had fully set up for the corner kick. Blyth equalised 15 minutes later though, Sam Robbins got caught under a long ball, while Harry Gardiner ran beyond the defender and chipped the onrushing Giddens from the edge of the box for 1-1. Build-up play on the edge of the box by Sow and Ryan Charles worked the ball into a position to feed Crichlow making a late run into the box, but was denied by a superb double save by Langley on the stroke of half-time.

HT 1-1

Giddens pushed away a long range strike from skipper Nicky Deverdics, who scored in the reverse fixture in October, and Darren Foxley hooked his corner kick away from danger. Spartans went ahead in the 66th minute, when Sam Robbins had cleared a cross from the left, the defence had missed the run of Gardiner who beat the offside trap to meet the second cross and tapped home from close range for his second of the match. Substitute Harry Beadle made a great intervention to deny Gardiner his hat-trick, beating the offside trap once more, he took the ball round Giddens but went too wide, allowing time for the defender to get back and make a goal-line block. Foxley crossed form the left for Stortford, and Sow’s powerful header in the middle wasn’t far over, before Riccardo Di Trolio’s unfortunate slip as he tried to clear the ball allowed substitute JJ Hooper to pick up the loose ball and slot home the third for Blyth. Giddens raced out to dive on the ball at Gardiner’s feet to deny his third once more, and Foxley cleared off the line from Hooper’s shot. Will McGowan’s shot was pushed away by Giddens in second half injury time, but the BLues were unable to mount a comeback.

FT 1-3

TEAMS

Bishop’s Stortford XI

1 Jack Giddens (c)

3 Riccardo Di Trolio

4 Amadou Kassarate (Goal 10’)

5 Sam Robbins

8 Kane Crichlow (Assist 10’)

9 Mbunya Alemanji (Beadle 63’)

10 Darren Foxley

11 Tosin Olufemi (McGregor 5’)

12 Emmanuel Oke

14 Osman Sow

15 Ryan Charles (Greene 82’)

Subs

2 Jack Thomas

6 Harry Beadle

7 Gio McGregor

17 Aaron Greene

18 Asher Falase

Blyth Spartans XI

30 Dan Langley

2 Rhys Evans

3 Michael Liddle

4 Harrison Clark

5 Finn Cousin-Dawson

6 Jack Bodenham

15 Billy Gordon (Hooper 61’)

16 Elliot Forbes

17 Nicky Deverdics (c) (Yellow card 84’)

24 Will McGowan

25 Harry Gardiner (Goal 25’ 64’) (Yellow card 58’)

Subs

9 JJ Hooper (Goal 76’)

14 Rio Joisce

18 Jon Shaw

21 Michael Hogan

Attendance 505