Preparation is key as South Shields aim for consecutive wins at Oxford City

South Shields are fully prepared for Saturday’s away day at Oxford City as they aim to build on their midweek home win against Warrington Town.

The Mariners fell a goal behind against their old foes as the Yellows took full advantage of some woeful defending to take the lead with a goal from Matthew McDonald on 19 minutes.  However, an equaliser from Will Jenkins just five minutes later and a second-half striker from Ashton Mee ensured Elliott Dickman’s side hit back to claim their first win of the season.

A long trip to Oxford lies in wait this weekend and the Mariners squad will make the journey down south on Friday afternoon as they look to get preparations right in their bid to make it two wins in a week.

Ahead of the trip, Mariners boss Dickman told The Gazette: “We will be looking at what they do and how that fits into how we play and what we need to do in and around that.  That’s going to be our jobs over the coming days and we know it’s going to be a difficult game.  Our preparations will be very thorough, we are going down there on Friday and doing it right, doing it properly.  From our side of things, we have to make sure we prepare right, give the right information and make sure everything is done professionally because it’s going to be a tough game down there.”

Dickman praised his players for their reaction to falling behind in Tuesday’s win over Warrington - but warned they must cut out the mistakes if they are to kick on from claiming their first three points of the season.

He said: “We’ve had a conversation about when we concede and how we react and sometimes it doesn’t always go our way.  I am absolutely thrilled we put that to bed, we came back and won the game.  The attitude and character was excellent and we just have to stop making those errors.  That’s something we will carry forwards.”

Midfielder Dan Ward will be assessed ahead of the game after limping out of Tuesday night’s win against Warrington.