Blyth AFC will host 2015/16 FA Vase winners Morpeth Town in their next pre-season friendly on Thursday, July 20.
The EBAC Northern League division 2 team ‘The Braves’ will take on first division club ‘The Highwaymen’ for the first time since their defeat at Christmas in a friendly match which saw Blyth AFC come away with a 3-0 defeat.
The friendly on Thursday is important, says joint manager Michael Connor, as it will help the team gage where they are in relation to what he describes as ‘one of the top teams in the Northern League’, before the season kicks off.
“Morpeth Town have always been one of those teams you can gage your own team’s strength against in that they are, in my opinion, one of the strongest teams in this league – so much so that I’d expect them to be the favourites to win this year,” he said.
“We have a lot of new players, been training hard and I think we have a very strong squad this season and by playing friendlies against some tough opponents gives us a real test to see how far away we are from some of the leading teams with regards to skills, fitness levels and our own development.
“We make no secret of the fact that we are very ambitious so by playing these hard-to-beat clubs helps us gain more experience and pushes us to where we want to be.”
The mid-week match takes place on Thursday July 20 at 7pm at Blyth AFC’s shared home ground at BTFC on Sandringham Drive, South Newsham in Blyth. Tickets are £3 for adults and £1 for concessions.
On July 22, The Braves then head up to Scotland to play Civil Service Strollers FC in Edinburgh for a 2pm kick-off before returning to the North East to play away against Percy Main on Wednesday July 26 (KO 7pm).
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