'Brilliant' Sunderland prospect hailed after two-goal debut for Blyth Spartans

Sunderland prospect Harry Gardiner has been praised for his two-goal display on his debut for his new loan club.

The Black Cats youngster enjoyed a fine start to an initial month-long spell with National League North club Blyth Spartans as he scored a goal in each half in their 3-1 win at bottom of the table Bishop’s Stortford.

With his side a goal down, Gardiner, who has five goals in his last five appearances for Sunderland Under-23s, grabbed an equaliser with a neat chip with the half-hour mark approaching before doubling his tally from close range midway through the second-half.  The 20-year-old went on to complete the entire 90 minutes and earned praise from Spartans manager Jon Shaw for a hardworking display - although he did leave his former South Shields youth coach wanting a little more after wasting a golden opportunity to complete a hat-trick.

He told The Echo: “He really could have finished the one-on-one chance he had and walked away with the match ball!

“But no, genuinely, I was really pleased for Harry.  I’ve known him since he was 16-years-old, he’s a lovely lad, he’s from a lovely family and because of that he is very hardworking and very down-to-earth.  He has a good understanding of what he is supposed to do as a striker and as a player and I was very keen to see how he would do at Sunderland.

“It turns out, a few years later, I had a chance to bring him in, so I was excited to see how he would do once we got him over the line and he did not disappoint.  He worked hard for the team, he looked after the ball better than some thought he would because of the physical side of the game at our level and the two goals he scored were brilliant.”

Shaw revealed a move for Gardiner was on his mind when he was named as successor to former Spartans manager Graham Fenton over the festive period.  Despite conceding the move could be seen as a ‘gamble’ given the youngster’s inexperience, the former Sheffield Wednesday and Luton Town striker is now hoping to play a key role in helping Gardiner gain the confidence and knowhow he needs to push on with his development at Sunderland.

He said: “Harry, for me, if you have a player with a natural ability to get goals, you need someone to take that gamble and there’s no point me saying some other manager should take that gamble, I have to take that gamble myself.

“I now want him to go back to Sunderland with an unbelievable level of confidence and belief, knowing no matter what level he steps up to, he can score goals, he can make an impact and to give him that knowledge of training and playing in senior football behind him.”

Gardiner will be back in action with Spartans when they host Banbury United at Croft Park on Saturday afternoon.