Blue Square North

Nov 7 2009 by Steve Brown, The Journal

WITH one more on board, Mick Tait is – jokingly – considering fielding one less when his Blyth Spartans side travel to Solihull Moors today. After all, it worked well last Saturday.

The Spartans signed Darlington defender Rikki Bains on a month’s loan deal on Thursday but, after faring better with 10 men against Ilkeston Town last week than they did before Kenny Boyle’s sending off, Tait laughed that he might be best-off starting a man down.

More seriously, though, Blyth mean to put a bad week or so – when they lost to Ilkeston and, in the FA Cup, AFC Telford – behind them.

Tait knows even against a side 16th in the Blue Square North table (Blyth are 11th) and who were beaten 2-0 at Croft Park in September, it will not be plain sailing.

He said: “We will be hoping to get the last week or so out of the way and to the back of our minds. It was a poor week when we did not do ourselves justice, and we have had a bit of a hangover from it. For whatever reasons we just did not start on Saturday and the game was lost by the time we got going.

“I was delighted with the lads’ attitude in the second half, when we only had 10 men. It was a terrific effort which the supporters really appreciated. Maybe we should start with 10 – then bring one more on when we take the lead!

“There are a few top teams who do not tend to have off days, the ones with the bigger budgets and a bit more quality, but on their day the bottom teams can still cause the top teams problems.”

Tait could have John Brackstone (rib) available, but Darren Craddock is absent and Robbie Dale is out following knee surgery, while 21-year-old former Coventry City, Accrington Stanley and Macclesfield centre-back Bains comes instantly into the reckoning.