South Shields aiming for four in a row ahead of midweek trip to Banbury United

South Shields travel to Banbury United tonight in a re-scheduled fixture. The original match was supposed to be played on February 24 but was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

The Mariners are currently on a three-game wining streak after getting the best of Chester City with Paul Blackett grabbing his 25th goal of the season in the 87th minute in what could be a season defining moment. Banbury, however, currently find themselves in 22nd place after suffering a 4-1 away loss to Curzon Ashton which was their eighth straight loss in the league.

The last time these two sides met was back in September on matchday seven. Julio Arca’s side ran out comfortable winners on that occasion, scoring a comfortable 4-0 win. Jordy Mongoy, Paul Blackett, Aaron Martin and Luke James all found themselves on the scoresheet that day.

Banbury's most dangerous player is 23-year-old Ken Charles who has scored 11 goals in 36 appearances this season.

Elliot Dickman's thoughts

Banbury may come into the game in poor form, but Dickman is keen to ensure there is no complacency from his side. He said: "They may be in 22nd place but that doesn’t mean we can let our performance levels drop, if we aren’t at our best they will punish us."

Paul Blackett impressed once again and got another goal last time out taking his tally to 25 this season but Dickman isn't concerned about losing his key man. "I’ve said in the past that we focus on the now and that is still the case," Dickman reiterated. "He is still our player and until that changes I’m not concerned really."