# Morpeth Town AFC Preview: Can West Auckland Cause an Upset?
**Can West Auckland make a statement against a Morpeth Town side looking to bounce back after relegation? With both sides still finding their feet, who will come out on top at Craik Park?**
West Auckland head up to Northumberland to face relegated Step 3 side Morpeth Town AFC at their home ground, Craik Park.
Founded in 1909, our opposition are three-time winners of the Northern Alliance Challenge Cup, Northumberland Senior Cup and Northumberland Benevolent Bowl.
The Highwaymen won promotion as champions with 88 points into the NPL Premier Division in the 2018-19 campaign and would establish themselves as a stable side at the level. They would be relegated to Step 4 in 2025-26 and will be making their case for a promotion bid this season.
Morpeth Town AFC focus heavily on controlling possession, building from the back, and utilising the wings under manager Craig Lynch. Their attacking approach is tailored to make full use of the large, fast 3G artificial pitch.
When they have the ball, Morpeth Town’s setup emphasises several distinct tactical traits, such as ball retention rather than rushing into direct long balls. Morpeth prioritise periods of sustained, short-passing possession to dictate the tempo and control matches. The centre-backs and central midfielders work closely to cycle the ball horizontally, looking for gaps in the opponent’s defensive block before launching forward passing phases.
**Flank domination** is a signature of their possession game, with the ball being moved out wide quickly.
Wingers and overlapping full-backs hug the touchline to stretch opposing defences and create overloads. They construct passing triangles on the wings to bypass opposition full-backs and deliver crosses into the box for their strikers.
While wide players provide the width, the midfielders rotate to create space. Central midfielders often drop deep to collect the ball from the defence, allowing full-backs to push high up the pitch. Using third-man runs, players look to execute quick combinations in the final third, using lay-offs to unlock defensive midfields.
Our opposition shift to a highly organised, disciplined and hard-working defensive framework when out of possession.
Lynch structures the team to prioritise compactness and tactical discipline, ensuring they are difficult to break down. When they lose the ball, Morpeth Town’s defensive system relies on several core strategies.
They deny their opposition central space. Instead of constantly chasing high up the pitch, Morpeth frequently drop into a cohesive mid-block, as well as squeezing the lines. The distance between their defensive line and midfield unit is kept incredibly tight. This forces opponents wide and prevents them from playing line-breaking passes through the centre of the pitch.
While they remain patient in their mid-block, they use the touchline as an extra defender. When an opponent plays the ball out to a full-back or wide midfielder, Morpeth’s wingers and pressing midfielders immediately swarm the area to trap the player. They capitalise on loose touches. If an opposing player miscontrols a pass or plays a slow, backward ball, The Highwaymen immediately transition into an aggressive high press to force a turnover close to the opposition box.
Their defensive identity relies heavily on winning individual aerial duels and second balls, especially in the physical environment of the Northern Premier League. They are not afraid to play a ‘feisty’ brand of football, using smart positioning and aggressive tackling to break up the opposition’s attacking rhythm.
They exploit the wings on turnovers. The moment Morpeth win the ball back deep in their own half, they look to exploit the transition. Because their out-of-possession shape relies on wide midfielders tracking back, they can quickly spray the ball wide to fast wingers who use the large space on the wings to trigger rapid counter-attacks.
Our Northumbrian opponents are winless in three matches, taking just two points from their first trio of games, with West only playing one game in the NPL East so far this season – an exciting 2-2 draw at home to North Ferriby.
We sit 13th in the table as it stands, with Morpeth Town occupying 11th place.
Words by Lewis’ Football Media.
