South Shields aim to bounce back from Hereford draw against familiar opposition

The clubs battled for promotion from the Northern Premier League for five years between 2018 and 2023 before ascending to tier six together at the end of last season. Both have adapted well to life at their new level, with Shields sitting third and Warrington 15th, closer in points to the play-off spots than the relegation zone. 

The Mariners are without a win in their last two matches, having been eliminated from the FA Cup by Leek Town before a goalless draw with Hereford last Saturday. Manager Julio Arca is expecting another difficult test at Cantilever Park. 

He said: “We’ve got a hard game coming up at Warrington. A lot of the lads have played there and know how tough it’s going to be, but we’ve done the right things this week and prepared well for the match. 

“We have a strong squad available to us and the only sad thing about that is that you have to leave some players out of the squad. We have a lot of games coming up in the next month, though, and we will have to use the full squad during this period.” 

Arca was satisfied with the performance against Hereford last time out, but is hoping his side will have greater success in finding a breakthrough against Warrington. 

He added: “We found it hard to break Hereford’s back line. They defended well and we had spells when we created chances, but it got more difficult in the second half. 

"The lads worked really hard. It would have been ideal to get three points, but that point could prove to be important come the end of the season.  Every game in this league is difficult.” 

Shields are hoping to have a close to full-strength squad available for the match at Cantilever Park, which has a post code of WA4 2RS. Admission prices at the gate are £15 for adults, £10 for concessions and £3 for under-16s. Discounts are available on tickets bought in advance from Warrington’s website.