Match Preview: South Shields vs Gloucester City

Gloucester City are the visitors to 1st Cloud Arena on Saturday as South Shields aim to maintain their 100% home record in Vanarama National League North (3pm kick-off).

Tom Broadbent's stunning goal earned the Mariners their second win of the campaign last Saturday as they defeated Scarborough Athletic 1-0.

The result moved Shields onto seven points from their opening four matches, which leaves them ninth in the early table heading into their bank holiday weekend double header against Gloucester and Darlington.

Gloucester come into Saturday's game searching for their first win of the season, having been pegged back deep into stoppage time in last weekend's 1-1 draw with King's Lynn Town.

They are managed by former England goalkeeper Tim Flowers, who won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers during his time as a player and took over the reins of the Tigers in the summer.

Julio's thoughts

Shields manager Julio Arca has stressed the importance of utilising his squad heading into their sequence of two games in three days.

He said: "We know it’s going to be a busy weekend, which promises to be a challenge for every team, not just us.

“The good thing from our perspective is that we have a strong squad with lots of players battling for positions.

“We’re going to utilise as many players as possible over the weekend, because it’s difficult to play two sets of 90 minutes in three days. Not impossible, but very difficult.

“That’s especially the case in this league, considering how physical the games are and how much the players need to run.

“We have a good 18 players and have to utilise them across the weekend, which will hopefully work out well for us.”

Despite last week's battling win over Scarborough, Arca is calling for improvements on Saturday.

He added: “We were delighted to get the three points but performance-wise, having watched it back, we know we can do a lot better.

“The lads worked really hard and tried to win the ball back as quickly as possible when we didn’t have it, but we need to improve in possession.

“The decision making in different areas can be improved, and the good thing is that we have players who are more than capable of doing that.”

Team news

Shields are waiting on the fitness of Jordy Mongoy, who missed out on the game against Scarborough with a knock.

They are expecting to have an otherwise full-strength squad to choose from.

Information for supporters

Kick-off at 1st Cloud Arena is at 3pm and the turnstiles will open at 12.30pm. There is no segregation in place, so supporters can enter the ground via any turnstile.

Tickets are available to purchase until 12pm on Saturday by clicking here, with online tickets priced at £14 for adults, £9 for students and over-65s, £5 for children aged 13 to 16 and £3 for children aged 12 and under. There is an additional £2 charge to sit.

Tickets are available to purchase at the turnstiles on matchday, when standing prices will increase to £15 for adults and £10 for students and over-65s. Cash and card will be accepted.