It was a very important afternoon at Greenwich Avenue as Basford United beat relegation rivals Blyth Spartans 3-1 after a frantic second half.

A fantastic free kick from Matt Thornhill was quickly cancelled out by a freak goal from Nicky Deverdics, but the Ambers responded well through Kane Richards and McKeal Abudllah to get a crucial three points on the board.

Both teams came out of the traps looking to find an early break as the ball went end to end albeit without any moment of real quality. It looked like the Ambers would’ve had the chance to strike first after 15 minutes as good work from Rev James saw a cross find the foot of Ash Chambers unmarked in the box, and his ambitious volley was narrowly wide of the top corner. Brad Gascoigne was the next player to have a pop at goal with a powerful header, but it didn’t trouble Ollie Basey as it fell straight at him.

As the half ticked on there wasn’t any sign of the attacking pace slowing down but there also didn’t look like any sign of either side breaking the deadlock. Much of Greenwich Avenue thought Chambers had given them the lead after brilliant link up play with Thornhill but it was tightly ruled offside. The Spartans responded well and thought they had also gotten the lead at close range but once again the linesman disagreed. Despite plenty of chances falling for both, neither could produce anything dangerous to open the score.

It was much of the same as the second half began, with both teams needing a moment of magic or luck to find an opener. Chambers tried to carve through the Spartans’ defense and could only be brought down for a foul on the edge of the box. The skipper Thornhill stepped up to take, and his curling effort from 20 yards beat Basey at the bottom corner to give the Ambers the magic they needed and the lead in the 57th minute.

With Basford finding that magic, only minutes later and the visitors were hit with a stroke of luck as substitute Nicky Deverdics took a speculative shot from far out, and as multiple Basford bodies tried to block, it took a wicked deflection and wrong footed Deeney, giving the Spartans an unlikely equaliser in the 59th minute.

The Ambers began to control the momentum as they looked to bounce back quickly but the visitors held resolute. Basford’s patience eventually paid off as Richards linked up brilliantly with Abdullah in the box, and the latter was able to slot the ball calmly past Basey at close range to put the Ambers back in front in the 77th minute.

There was no stop to the Ambers’ relentless pressure and somehow they didn’t make it three as Chambers, Richards and Jordan Hallam all saw shots blocked at close range in quick succession. Hallam shortly after had another golden chance after a cutback from Josh Barnes, but a brilliant diving save from Basey kept it out.

Something eventually had to give for the visitors and it did in the form of Abdullah, who had the easiest finish of his life as he tapped the ball into an open net following a cross from Richards in the 91st minute. Full time rang out and confirmed the pivotal win for the Ambers.

STARTING XI: Saul Deeney, Taylor Anderson, Josh Barnes, Matt Thornhill (c), Ethan Stewart, Brad Gascoigne (66' Jamie Williamson), Rev James (62' McKeal Abdullah), Daniel Adiefeh, Theo Hudson (78' Jordan Hallam), Ash Chambers, Kane Richards

ATT: 357

MOTM: Daniel Adiefeh

GOALSCORERS: Matt Thornhill, Kane Richards, McKeal Abdullah