South Shields looking for revenge against familiar face in FA Trophy clash

The second round tie comes just a week after the Mariners travelled to The Big Help Stadium in National League North. They were beaten 1-0 on that occasion, despite dominating much of the proceedings, before bouncing back with a tremendous 5-2 win at Spennymoor Town on Tuesday. 

Shields manager Julio Arca says his side will be attacking the FA Trophy match as if it was a league game. He said: “We’re going to go there and play our game. 

“We were unlucky to lose there last weekend and we have to take this game as a league fixture. We see how the players are after every game and assess them to decide on the best team and squad we feel will give us a chance of winning. 

“Our target is to have a good run in this competition so we’ll be giving it everything to get through.” 

Paul Blackett scored a hat-trick in Shields’ thumping victory at Spennymoor, with Aaron Martin and Lirak Hasani also on target. For Arca, the result was vindication for his team’s performances over recent weeks. 

He added: “I’ve been saying for weeks that this team deserves it. We’ve deserved to get more points than we’ve got recently and on Tuesday, we put out a statement. 

“What happened on Tuesday is what we’ve been working on for weeks, and we could have scored even more than five. I’m proud of every single one of the players, because apart from doing what we asked of them on the ball, off it they worked really hard as well.” 

Shields will remain without Joao Gomes for Saturday’s game, with Michael Woods doubtful with a knee injury. 

Kick-off at The Big Help Stadium is at 3pm and admission prices are £13.50 for adults, £10 for those aged 65+ and students, £5 for those aged 12 to 17 and £1 for under-12s accompanied by an adult or concession. There is an additional charge to sit.