Graham Fenton delighted with Mariners' response to derby loss '“ and eyes home draw in Vase

Joint manager Graham Fenton was delighted with the way South Shields responded to last week's derby loss to North Shields on Saturday.
Graham Fenton is hoping for a home draw in the third round of the Vase. Image by Peter Talbot.Graham Fenton is hoping for a home draw in the third round of the Vase. Image by Peter Talbot.
Graham Fenton is hoping for a home draw in the third round of the Vase. Image by Peter Talbot.

The Mariners had been left to stew on their agonising 1-0 defeat to their cross-river rivals for seven days before taking on Marske United in the FA Vase.

And Fenton felt they bounced back “in style” as a dominant performance helped to secure a 2-0 victory.

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He said: “We knew the performance, up to a point, was pretty good against North Shields, so we certainly weren’t hitting any panic buttons. It was vital we bounced back against Marske, though, and I thought we did it in some style.

“We know how good Marske can be on their day, and I thought we nullified their strengths really well.

“We moved the ball really well and opened them up on numerous occasions.

“It could have been any sort of score if our finishing had been a little bit sharper, but 2-0 against Marske is always a very good scoreline.”

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Shields will find out their third round opponents in the Vase when the draw is made on Monday lunchtime. They have beaten Marske, Runcorn Linnets and Esh Winning in the competition so far.

Fenton said: “We possibly got one of the hardest draws in this round, so hopefully the draw will be kind this time and we’ll possibly get a slightly easier one. A home draw would be ideal against possibly someone a bit easier than Marske.

“If we play like we did on Saturday against anybody, though, they’re going to have their hands full trying to contain us.”