Newcastle University vs Newcastle Blue Star (21/04/2026)

Although Newcastle Blue Star’s league campaign has come to an end, the same cannot be said for the season as a whole. Paul Brayson’s men pipped to the playoff post on the final day of the season, League Cup silverware is still up for grabs.

The reason that Blue Star managed to make both Boro Rangers and Kendal sweat on the final afternoon of the season is due to a seventh successive league win on Friday night – an eighth win in a row in all competitions.

A playoff shootout with themselves and North Shields took place at the KD Stadium and it certainly did not disappoint any of the 890 supporters who came through the turnstiles looking for some early weekend entertainment.

Two local rivals, an encounter full of ebb and flow and with the scores level at the break after Ryan Carr and Dan Stephenson swapped strikes, it set up a grandstand last 45 minutes of regular season action.

Blue Star searching for the ascendency in the game, they also found themselves a man better off when Adam Forster was sent off halfway through the second half. However, it was the visitors who scored the next goal of the game.

Another former Blue Star player Nelson Ogbewe on the scoresheet, all the hallmarks of a smash and grab in Scotswood looked like coming to fruition as North Shields went ahead for the second time. 12 minutes left to save the hosts’ season. Mission accepted.

Blue Star smelling blood, Dan Lanning smelling goals. His fizzing volley with four minutes remaining restored parity for the second time on Friday. Parity not enough to earn a top five finish and with the seconds ticking down, Collins Unareokpa was felled in the box.

Penalty awarded, Sean Reid stepping up and holding his nerve when it mattered most. A glorious finish to the game and the league season but unfortunately the reward of a playoff spot was blocked off less than 24 hours later.

However, the momentum that has been cultivated in the past couple of months will be a big asset going into tonight’s League Cup encounter. Blue Star have plenty to give, their opponents Newcastle University would love nothing more than to claim a scalp on the way to the semi-finals.

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