'Our quality' - Mike Williamson & South Shields deliver perfect response to Chester supporter taunt
South Shields 3-1 Chester - Mike Williamson reaction: Read the full report, reaction & player ratings in Monday’s Shields Gazette.
South Shields boss Mike Williamson was delighted to see his side get back to doing the ugly things well as the Mariners battled to an impressive 3-1 win over Chester at the Wolf Competitions Stadium on Saturday.
Shields bounced back from successive National League North defeats and an FA Cup exit to beat their play-off rivals in wet and windy conditions on South Tyneside.
Cedwyn Scott, Toby Onanaye and substitute Caden Kelly were on target for the hosts after Billy Waters had given Chester the lead.
South Shields’ perfect response
Chester supporters were chanting ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’ at Williamson during the brief spell in which the visitors led.
But the South Shields boss and his players who delivered the perfect response, moving three points clear of Chester and up to fourth in the table with a comeback victory.
After four consecutive away games, the victory was just what Williamson and his side needed on home turf.
“We've done a lot of miles and the results haven't been what we wanted as well,” Williamson told the Gazette.
“So we've had to make sure that coming back here, we really, again with the conditions as well, just do the ugly things, do the basic things right.
“Make sure that we're not giving away easy goals. If we concede, they have to work for it. And I thought we defended really well today.”
Defensive issues addressed
Despite conceding, Shields frustrated Chester and limited the visitors to few clear-cut chances.
It was the response Williamson wanted, particularly after his side had conceded 16 goals in their previous seven games.
“For us, it was about our defensive side,” he explained. “We've been struggling in that respect. So disappointing to concede. And then we had, obviously, to react to that, which I thought we did exceptionally well.
“And that was one of the really pleasing things. It didn't change our strategy and process. And we stepped on, really, and then ended up getting a deserved equaliser and then going on.”
Williamson was pleased with the overall performance, particularly given the conditions and Chester's defensive record.
“It was a really good performance. I thought it was a really dogged performance.
“One that we wanted to build off after the second half of Halifax, where we were really good. The conditions made it difficult. Chester, they've got the best defensive record in the league so that was always going to be difficult.
“But overall, I thought we had to really work hard. But we managed to do all the ugly things that was really pleasing and then our quality came through.”
Away local derby next
The Mariners are back on the road on Tuesday night as they look to build on Saturday's victory against local rivals Spennymoor Town.
Williamson knows his side will need to maintain the same focus as they look to make it back-to-back wins.
“We'll be in early Monday morning,” he added. “We'll see if we want to give the players a debrief of what we thought we can improve on, what was good before focusing on a really tough game.
“Obviously, Spennymoor are always tough. They're our neighbours. We know how good they are. So we've got to make sure our focus is on that.”