Match Preview: South Shields vs Farsley Celtic

South Shields come off a two-week break to face mid-table Farsley Celtic in the Vanarama National League North on Tuesday (7:45pm kick-off).

Due to Saturday’s fixture between South Shields and Alfreton Town being called off, the Mariners have now gone 14 days without playing a match. This leaves the 3-2 win over Bishop’s Stortford their most recent outing.

Farsley Celtic sit just three points behind South Shields in the National League North in 14th place, both sides have played 27 games each leading up to this.

A win tomorrow could see Shields climb just outside the play-off spaces if other results go their way.

Elliott's thoughts

The win against Bishop’s Stortford was interim manager Elliott Dickman’s first win in charge of the Mariners and he is keen to make this match his second.

Although it was 2 weeks ago, he hoped the last result would “help breed some confidence within the group”. Unfortunately, we were unable to see if that would hold any truth or not due to a frozen pitch at Alfreton.

As a result, the previous “11-day training program” had been extended by a further 3 days leaving the players without a recognized match for 2 weeks. Now a question of match sharpness arises.

Tuesday night’s opposition has also been without a league fixture for an extended period. Tomorrow will mark 10 days since their last match in which they were 2-0 winners against Scarborough Athletic.

The last time these two teams met in the league was a 1-1 draw at the Citadel.  Lirak Hisani scored Shields' lone goal that day taking the lead 60 minutes in before a penalty was awarded in extra time which saw the Mariners fall at the last hurdle.

Team news

Will Jenkins was recalled from his loan at Morpeth Town over the weekend making him available for tomorrow’s match.

Information for supporters

Kick-off at the 1st Cloud Arena (NE32 3UP) is at 7:45 pm Tuesday 23rd January.

Admission prices are £14 for adults, £9 for concessions, £5 for 13–16-year-olds and £3 for 12 and under. – (including online discounts.)

Supporters can secure their tickets by clicking here.