Elliott Dickman hails South Shields as on-loan Newcastle United youngster seals win over Scunthorpe United

South Shields interim manager Elliott Dickman hailed a 'really good team performance' after the Mariners claimed a hard-fought 2-1 win against National League North rivals Scunthorpe United.

Dickman's men went into the game on the back of Saturday's 4-0 home defeat against Darlington but showed no ill-effects of a disappointing day as they remained organised and disciplined against an Iron side that still harbour hopes of pushing Tamworth for the title between now and the end of the season.

After a goalless first-half, it was the Mariners that struck first as on-loan Newcastle United forward Dylan Stephenson scored within 30 seconds of the restart. A neat header from Dion Sembie-Ferris restored parity on 69 minutes but Stephenson landed the crucial blow when he made the most of some impressive approach play from Paul Blackett to hand his side all three points ten minutes from time.

Dickman praised the fight and character shown by his players throughout a keenly-contested affair at the 1st Cloud Arena and stressed everyone connected with the Mariners should enjoy what felt like a rewarding win.

He told The Gazette: "I am really pleased for the team and it was a really good team performance where everyone played their part. I thought the lads were fantastic, it probably wasn't our best footballing performance if I am being honest but there were moments in the game that I was pleased with. We showed character, we showed fight and they were two really good goals from Dylan and I'm very pleased for him. It's about the team, the players on the pitch are working hard and the team behind the team are doing brilliantly and everyone should enjoy tonight."

Dickman reserved special praise for two-goal hero Stephenson as the on-loan Magpies youngster helped his temporary employers claim a notable win against the Iron and admitted South Shields are 'reaping the rewards' of the hard work being put in by the forward.

The Mariners interim boss said: "His two goals were fantastic. His first one, the awareness to see where the goalkeeper was and the quality to lob him from where he was, in a difficult situation after the header fell to him, was a really good finish. His second was just a top-level finish, it was fantastic and I'm delighted for Dylan. He's at that stage in his career where he's got to kick on, no matter what the future holds. Obviously, he's still a Newcastle United player, I don't know what the situation is there but we are reaping the rewards of the work he has been doing at Newcastle with the staff helping him out."

The Mariners will hope to continue their push for a play-off place when they make the long trip to Banbury United on Saturday.