Morpeth Town manager Craig Lynch admitted “it wasn’t the season we had envisioned” as his side ended a topsy-turvy campaign with a trophy in the cabinet and their status in the NPL Premier Division assured.
The Highwaymen could have gone top of the table on two separate occasions with a victory but needed a strong end to the season – they lost just three times in league and cup in the last 11 games – to ensure they secured survival with a game to spare, as well as memorably lifting the Northumberland FA Techflow Marine Senior Cup at St James’ Park after a 2-0 win over Blyth Spartans.
For Lynch, the end product remains a success.
“It wasn’t the season we had envisioned when we started out,” he said.
“With other teams strengthening, and we weren’t in a position to do that, I feel the season was definitely a success in terms of keeping our status in the league and winning a cup.
“We had a bad run of form around Christmas, with key players missing also, which didn’t help the situation. The way we finished the league was very positive in some tough times for everyone.”
That bizarre run of losses saw Morpeth lose six straight games, without scoring a goal in 450 minutes of football. Sam Fishburn’s strike at Matlock Town, in a 2-2 draw that snapped that run, ended the drought as Town partially recovered, only to go another four straight games without scoring.
Staring down the barrel, they pulled off two wins and two draws in their final league games to ensure another season in the top tier of step three.
Quietly but confidently progressing in the Senior Cup, in typical Morpeth fashion they drew the league season to a close in dramatic circumstances, with goalkeeper Dan Lowson scoring a 95th minute equaliser as his side came from 3-0 down to draw with Warrington Rylands at a jubilant Craik Park.
Then came a night to remember as they brushed aside National League North Blyth to lift the county cup.
“That’s what it’s about for me,” continued Lynch.
“Especially winning a cup, it’s the only realistic one for us and to finish the season off with it was fantastic.”
