Spartans' boss hits out after poor performance

Posted by The Journal on Nov 2, 09 04:38 PM in Sport

Mick Tait accused his side of a lack of effort after the Spartans conceded four goals for the second time in what has turned out to be a nightmare week.

Blyth, beaten 4-0 at AFC Telford in the FA Cup on Tuesday, turned in a Halloween horror show as they slumped to a 4-1 home defeat against Ilkeston Town.

It was certainly not a treat for the Blyth fans who saw their side three down in half-an-hour and then forced to play the second half with 10 men.

Defender Kenny Boyle was red carded on 42 minutes for a crunching tackle in midfield on David Graham that saw the Robins striker stretchered off.

Ilkeston could have scored more than one goal after the break, but an outplayed and numerically disadvantaged Blyth dug deep to claim a late consolation goal from Adie Webster.

"It was a lacklustre performance and the most disappointing aspect was the lack of effort by the players in the first half," said Tait. "We allowed them to cross the ball at will and defensively we were found wanting.

"The blame does not entirely lie with the defenders as there was an alarming lack of cover from the players playing in front of them.

"We played much better with only 10 men and I can take the positives out of the second half display. There is no question there is a lot of ability in the squad but a lack of effort is unacceptable."

Tait had no complaints about Boyle's dismissal, which is likely to bring a three-match suspension.

"I have no complaints about the sending off. I don't think Kenny meant to hurt the lad but it was a nasty tackle.

"It certainly seemed like an FA Cup hangover as we made a bad start and at 3-0 down after half an hour the game was virtually over."

Twenty-year-old striker Amari Morgan-Smith helped himself to a hat-trick, with Graham also on target before Webster signed off with a late header ahead of the midfielder's impending move to Australia.

We'd like to hear from you.
Send your stories, pics and videos