Boro Rangers vs Newcastle Blue Star (20/08/2025)

The lighting fast start to the season shows no signs of slowing down and with Newcastle Blue Star playing twice this week, they will do so at the same venue.

However, it is not their KD Stadium home which has double duties over the next few days.

Instead it is Boro Rangers who will be rolling out the red carpet for Marc Nash and his players and with the first of two skirmishes scheduled for just a few hours, it is league matters on Wednesday before FA Vase matters three days later.

While Boro Rangers’ home will certainly have conjured up positive recent memories for Blue Star supporters and after the two teams were paired together in last season’s Division 2 playoff semi-finals, it was the Scotswood outfit who progressed by a three-goal winning margin.

Which was precisely the winning margin for Blue Star in their first league success of the season. A trip to Easington Colliery seven days ago saw NE15’s finest run out 4-1 winners and in doing so, they managed to put a slow start to the campaign behind them.

If there have been slight stutters in the league thus far, that has certainly not been the case when it comes to the FA Cup and after getting the better of North Shields in the Extra Preliminary Round, Newton Aycliffe were subsequently swatted away for good measure.

Step 4 playing host to Step 5, Blue Star stepping up to the challenge and moving into the First Qualifying Round where the visit of Heaton Stannington awaits in what should be an enthralling local derby.

However, there are plenty of other distractions before then and the first of those is a return to league matters. Now that a first league win of the season has been etched into the history books, the second will want to be added as soon as possible.

Then again, Boro Rangers will be keen to not only exact revenge for the playoff disappointment that was handed out to them three months ago but they will also be keen to extend their current unbeaten home run which has seen them pick up seven points from the last nine.

Something which sets up this clash rather nicely indeed. A big thanks to Boro Rangers for the upcoming hospitality and for those attending from an away perspective, safe travels both there and back.