Match Preview: South Shields vs Hebburn Town

Hebburn Town provide the opposition on Tuesday as the Mariners take part in their third pre-season friendly (7.30pm kick-off).

Shields began their pre-season programme with a 2-0 win at Newton Aycliffe last week before an entertaining 4-3 defeat against Sunderland on Saturday.

Julio Arca's side are back at 1st Cloud Arena on Tuesday to take on South Tyneside neighbours Hebburn, who have won two and drawn one of their three friendlies so far.

The teams also met ahead of the 2022-23 season, when Shields ran out 4-0 winners at Hebburn Sports Ground.

Manager's views

Shields manager Arca has spoken of the importance of the match against Hebburn – particularly when it comes to the fitness levels of his players.

He said: "Tuesday is another game which will be important for the fitness levels of the lads, and it might give us an opportunity to give more minutes to some of those who didn't play much on Saturday.

"We're trying to find a balance where everyone gets the right amount of minutes ahead of the final two or three games of pre-season.

"At the moment, it's mainly about fitness and slowly starting to build up the way we want to play.

"We showed some good signs of that on Saturday and we're continuing to work on that."

Information for supporters

Kick-off at 1st Cloud Arena is at 7.30pm and the turnstiles open at 5.30pm.

Admission is priced at £6 for adults, £5 for students, over-65s and disabled supporters, and £3 for under-18s. Cash and card is accepted at the turnstiles.

Those who have not pre-purchased a seat can pay £2 for an upgrade on the night.