Blyth Spartans have waited 44 years to avenge stardust-coated Wrexham

Wrexham’s Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney add an extra layer of spice to a cup tie against Blyth Spartans which carries a lot of baggage.

This weekend the FA Cup reaches its fourth qualifying round, the last stage of the competition before EFL clubs enter.

One match stands out from all the rest. On Saturday lunchtime, Blyth Spartans of the National League North play at home against Wrexham of the National League in front of live television cameras which will broadcast globally.

This match is drawing huge attention on account of the involvement of the actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at Wrexham. With the documentary series charting their time at the club now streaming on Disney+, there has been considerable interest, but this weekend their club finds itself in the position of dragons to be slain – the clear favourites to beat a team playing and struggling a division below them.

But while this match will see a huge amount of publicity for Wrexham and their sprinkling of stardust, this is also a particularly big day for their hosts. This particular FA Cup draw gives Blyth a chance to right a wrong that has been festering for four and a half decades.

There’s history between these two clubs, and if revenge really is a dish best served cold then Blyth will be hoping that a chill wind blowing in off the North Sea might knock Wrexham off-course altogether.

Blyth Spartans’ run to the FA Cup fifth round in the 1977/78 season didn’t quite come from nowhere. Five years earlier they’d held Reading to a draw in the third round before losing the replay at Elm Park. But there was something about this club – their distinctive kit of green, white and black or their unusual name, perhaps – which really caught the public’s imagination, particularly in the north-east of England.

Then playing in the Northern Premier League, Blyth’s FA Cup run that season started against a humble backdrop, having to see off Shildon, Crook Town, Consett and Bishop Auckland just to get to the first round. And once they got that far, there was mixed news. The draw pitted them against another non-league team in the form of Burscough of the Cheshire League. Any disappointment at not getting a ‘big’ draw was comfortably offset by progression to the next round.

The second round draw pitted them against mid-table Third Division – now League Two – side Chesterfield, and this time there was a surprise on the cards: another 1-0 win for the Blyth and a place in the…