Ian Watson wants South Shields to keep believing as Bedford Town draw hits title hopes
South Shields were held to a 1-1 draw by Bedford Town and slipped from the top of the National League North table.
Ian Watson insisted there was no reason to criticise his South Shields players after their National League North title bid was dealt a blow by a home draw with Bedford Town.
The visitors opened the scoring just after the hour-mark as they made a rare venture into the Mariners half and George Moncur took advantage of some naive defending to beat Jasper Sheik. Ethan Mann got Watson’s side back into the game in the first minute of second-half injury-time and they came so close to a precious winner when Dillon Morse’s header was kept out by visitors keeper Nathan Ashmore as the former England C international made the last of several stunning saves.
“I wouldn’t say frustration because the boys gave everything they could,” the Mariners boss told The Gazette shortly after full-time. “They peppered the goal, they ran hard, we gave them a sloppy goal but there isn’t any criticism we just have to learn from it and move on to next week. We knew their keeper was capable of that, we’ve played against him a lot over the years and he’s capable of having these days. He has done his job incredibly well and they did their job incredibly well.”
The visitors arrived at the 1st Cloud Arena with work to do in their battle against relegation and unsurprisingly they looked to frustrate the Mariners by remaining defensively disciplined and focusing their attention on effective counter-attacking play. There were some nervy moments for the Mariners during the opening quarter of an hour - but Watson’s men quickly started to dominate possession and chances, albeit of the half variety, began to arrive.
Patience was clearly the order of the day as Sean McGurk fired over twice and Paul Blackett brought a routine save out of visitors goalkeeper Nathan Ashmore before the latter sent a volley narrowly wide of the near post after getting on the end of a chipped pass from Robbie Tinkler. That missed opportunity ensured the game remained goalless at the half-time whistle and there was plenty to ponder for Watson and his coaching staff as they made their way back towards the home dressing room.
Hope
The second-half brought a notable upturn in tempo and energy from South Shields and they came close to an eye-catching opener when Ashmore somehow tipped a thunderous effort from Robbie Tinkler over his crossbar within minutes of the restart. Further frustration came with more eye-catching stops to deny McGurk, Blackett and Sonny Finch and the visitors took full advantage of the brilliance of their number one when Moncur punished loose defending to fire them in front just after the hour-mark.
The Mariners gave themselves some hope of turning the game on its head in the first of seven added-on minutes as Mann forced the ball home at the far post and set up a frantic finale. The vast majority of those inside the 1st Cloud Arena were on their feet with 95 minutes on the clock as substitute Dillon Morse sent a powerful header goalwards - but he was left with his head in his hands as Ashmore got his fingertips to the effort and sent it over the crossbar.
AFC Fylde’s win against Southport means the Coasters now have a two-point advantage going into the final day of the season and they will be promoted if they claim a win at Merthyr Town. However, anything less than a win could open the door for the Mariners as they visit Kiddersminster Harriers - although Watson’s men would have to overturn an inferior goal difference if they are to secure top spot and promotion into non-league’s top tier.
Assessing what lies in wait next weekend, Watson said: “Everyone will say it’s out of our hands - but what we do is in our hands and what we have to do is go to Kidderminster and try and win a game of football against a really good side in a really good game in a really good stadium. We are looking forward to it and we hope things go our way elsewhere. It’s a really exciting league and these are the moments you want to be involved in”
South Shields: Sheik, Tinkler, Bainbridge (Morse), McGurk, Blackett, Jenkins, Mann, Finch, Wheeldon (Scott), Alcock (Kelly), Dodds Subs: Sykes, Robson, Watson, Carson
Bedford Town: Ashmore, S Brown, Castiglione (Cole), Gallimore (Taylor), Marsh, Jenkins, Doherty, Sandiford, E Brown (Ahmed), Moncur (Payne), Nugent Subs: Patmore, Ahmed, Phillips