Easington Colliery vs Newcastle Blue Star (13/08/2025)

Although playing on familiar territory is meant to offer home comforts, things have been rather uncomfortable for Newcastle Blue Star at the KD Stadium this season.

Three league outings in front of their own support, three outings where they have failed to end up victorious.

A tally of one point from the first nine on offer has Marc Nash and his players at the opposite end of the table than planned and after a home defeat to Thornaby on Saturday, gaps to other promotion hopefuls are already starting to show.

Gaps that cannot be allowed to get much bigger if at all and although results in the first month of the campaign can be brushed off with a lack of definition to the season as a whole, there has to be an uptick in performance at some stage.

The stage which Blue Star will hope to begin to build this evening and although they have largely toiled at home thus far, their one away day has provided safe passage to the FA Cup Preliminary Round – a fixture that takes place on Saturday.

Before the Scotswood outfit get up for the cup, they must be fully up for the challenge that will be and is always set by Easington Colliery. The two clubs have had a rather intertwining story over the past couple of seasons, nothing is ever left in the dressing room when they square off.

Which is just the way manager Nash will want it and with travelling sides getting rewarded for their efforts, he will feel that now it is time for Blue Star to get their rewards for a job well done across 90 minutes and more.

Too many presents being handed out to opponents in the first few weeks of the campaign, those involved with Blue Star know the generosity must stop here and especially as Easington Colliery will be in no mood to hand out any gifts themselves.

Something which sets up tonight’s clash rather nicely indeed. A big thanks to Easington Colliery for the upcoming hospitality and for those attending from an away perspective, safe travels both there and back.