South Shields joint manager issues strong message ahead of Colne clash

Graham Fenton has reminded his South Shields players that Colne are not a team to be taken lightly heading into Saturday's FA Trophy tie at 1st Cloud Arena.
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Colne bridged the one-division gap in an FA Cup game against the Mariners last season, drawing 0-0 in South Tyneside before prevailing 1-0 in the replay.

Fenton is determined to ensure history will not repeat itself in the third qualifying round match as Shields look to make progress in another competition, having already made their way to the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history.

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The joint manager said: "Colne have got off to a strong start in their league campaign and have already progressed through one round of this competition.

South Shields in action, picture by Kev Wilson.South Shields in action, picture by Kev Wilson.
South Shields in action, picture by Kev Wilson.

"We know through bitter experience that they are going to be a tough team to play against and will no doubt cause us some problems, but we're very confident on the back of three clean sheets in a row that we can deal well with anything they throw at us.

"We created plenty of good situations in Tuesday's game against FC United of Manchester and we will be looking to be as creative but more clinical against Colne to hopefully get the correct result."

Colne have former England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland among their coaching staff, while the newest recruit to their playing ranks is ex-Newcastle United favourite Ryan Taylor.

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Shields go into the game with a number of doubts over players, with Darius Osei and Jordan Hunter both having missed out on Tuesday's 1-0 win over FC United of Manchester with calf problems.

Nathan Lowe and Luke Daly remain on the treatment table with knee injuries, and Fenton believes Saturday's game may prove to be an opportunity for players to stake a claim for a regular starting place.

He added: "There are a lot of tired legs within our squad, which was noticeable on Tuesday, and this may well be an opportunity to give some players who haven't played as much recently some much-needed game-time.”

Kick-off in Saturday's game is at 3pm and tickets are sold out.

A live stream is available to watch for £5 and can be accessed by going to https://bit.ly/37Smz4r.