A women’s football team has hailed its first year back as a success despite a recent 9-0 FA Cup loss.
Blyth Spartans Women played their first competitive match in September 2025 after 16 years away.
The club reached the third round of FA Cup qualifiers, losing to Chorley Women FC who are three tiers above them on 4 October.
But head of women’s football Linda Bush said the match was “a real celebration” with more than 350 fans in attendance at Croft Park, in Northumberland, a crowd some non-league men’s sides would be envious of.
Blyth Spartans was subject to a takeover in 2024, with local businessman Martin Trinder forming a Community Interest Company (CIC) to run the Northumberland club.
This paved the way for the women’s side to reform after nearly two decades away.
‘Total celebration’
Bush said the club initially got rejected from the FA Cup because only the top teams in Tier 7 are allowed to enter and they were in Division Two.
But a week before the first round draw was made, the Northumberland Football League put Blyth Spartans Women up to the top of Tier 7- Northumberland Football League – Premiership.
Bush then appealed with the FA.
And they had a successful run, up until facing the semi-professional Chorley, whose win put them in the main draw.
“We got battered 9-0, but we really shouldn’t have been that far in the FA Cup,” Bush said.
“So it was a total celebration.”
On the whole, Bush said the team was “two or three seasons ahead” of where she thought they would be at this stage.
Last season, only four of the women’s home games were played at Croft Park, but this season all of them will be after a discussion with the club’s director.
“To get 350 people through the door, alright, they’re paying £2 rather than maybe £12 when they come and see the men, but it’s still 350 people who chose to come and sit in Croft Park on a Sunday afternoon when they could have been doing things elsewhere,” Bush said.
“I just think it’s a fantastic option for the community – entertainment, fresh air and women’s football.
“We’ve done a really good job, so really happy.”
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