Mike Williamson hails South Shields FC 'warriors' after Scarborough win
South Shields kickstarted their National League North campaign with a win at Scarborough Athletic.
Mike Williamson praised ten-man South Shields FC for showing a ‘warrior mentality’ in their hard-earned 1-0 win at National League North rivals Scarborough Athletic.
Sonny Finch handed Williamson a perfect start to his first competitive fixture in charge of the Mariners when he broke the offside trap to open the scoring with just 11 minutes on the clock and that set the foundation for an impressive victory on the opening day of the campaign. However, the Mariners were forced to work for their points as they were reduced to ten men just before the hour-mark when defender Ethan Mann was shown a straight red card for hauling down Mo Fadera as he raced in on goal.
The hosts applied serious pressure in the closing stages but were repelled by an impressive defensive display from Williamson’s men - although goalkeeper Jasper Sheik had to be at his best when he produced a stunning late save to deny Dom Tear from close range and that allowed his manager to deliver a positive assessment of his side’s display.
He told the club website: “I’m exhausted so I can only think about what the boys have gone through this afternoon. The heat rebounded off the 3G, going down to ten men, which I’m disappointed with because I think it was just a 50-50 tussle, but the spirit, the resilience, the chemistry and the energy the lads showed was incredible. I am really, really pleased. It’s a warrior mentality, that’s what we asked. I just wanted to see, with going down to ten men, there was no submission. If we lose the game, we lose the game, that’s fine, but we do it fighting. There was no reluctance to submit or to give it us easy. They put bodies on the line, we had to ride our luck and Jasper was incredible, what a performance. You could see the boys, they were dead on their feet with 30 minutes to go and we had to find a way. They did.”
Williamson calmed fears over a possible injury suffered by summer signing Khanya Lashabela by revealing the midfielder had suffered with cramp - but is awaiting news over a possible knee injury suffered by defender Dan Dodds during the first half of the win.
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