Elliott Dickman delighted with 'gritty' South Shields after win at Alfreton Town

South Shields manager Elliott Dickman attributed Tuesday night’s win at Alfreton Town to the ‘grit, steel and determination’ of his players.

After claiming all three points as reward for a largely dominant display against Farsley Celtic on Saturday, the Mariners knew they would face a sizeable task against an Alfreton side that have always been strong to breakdown on home soil. With a physical and direct style of play, a trip to face the Reds is widely viewed one of the biggest challenges across the National League North.

However, two goals apiece from top scorer Paul Blackett and summer signing Coleby Shepherd ensure the Mariners secured an impressive 4-2 win that moved them into the top ten and left their manager to praise his squad for their display.

The former Newcastle United and Sunderland academy coach told The Gazette: “They have a very defined style of play and they are very good at it. They have enjoyed a lot of success from it so for us to go down there and put in the performance and get the result we did shows a lot of character, grit, steel and determination. Maybe a month or six weeks ago, I’m not sure we would have performed as well as we have but we have worked hard to put some wrongs right from earlier in the season and the lads deserve all of the credit for the result and performance because to get a win at Alfreton is a very difficult thing to do.”

Dickman also praised the performance of former Whitby Town winger Shepherd after he marked his return to the starting eleven with a gritty display that was rewarded with his double strike.

He said: “He was excellent. We have had to be patient with Coleby, he’s been chomping at the bit and he had a cameo appearance on Saturday that helped but our planning was to get him in on Tuesday because it was always going to be tough and physical and he is really good at that side of the game. He’s aggressive and tough and the fact he scored twice was the icing on the cake. It was a really strong performance.”

The Mariners are back in action on Saturday when Peterborough Sports visit the 1st Cloud Arena.