South Shields striker Blackett calms injury fears after Farsley win
The South Shields striker was in fine form as his side claimed a 5-1 win against National League North rivals Farsley Celtic.
South Shields striker Paul Blackett moved to calm fears over his fitness by revealing his half-time substitution in Saturday’s home win against Farsley Celtic was down to managing an injury.
The former Gateshead and Spennymoor Town forward scored twice during the opening 45 minutes and came close to claiming the matchball when his header drifted narrowly wide just before half-time. There was some surprise when Blackett failed to reappear after the restart after he was replaced by on-loan Carlisle United youngster Anton Dudik - but the Mariners star has confirmed he is managing his fitness ahead of a hectic run of games.
He told The Gazette: “It’s just managing the injury because I haven’t really trained for two weeks before taking part in the session on Friday. I think it’s managing it for now because I’ve come back from a serious injury and I’ve played a lot of minutes since I came back into the side so I’ve been managing it since getting back in. I’ve felt it again but I don’t want to end up in a similar situation to be honest so we will look to keep doing that until it gets better.”
Blackett also praised forward partner and former Newcastle United youngster Kyle Crossley after the duo both scored twice and provided the Mariners with a consistent threat throughout a first-half largely dominated by their side.
He said: “He is learning a lot as the weeks go by and coming from 21s’ football into the men’s game, it is going to take that time to adjust to it. His pace makes him dangerous, he’s getting goals and he’s working hard for the team. If I drop short, I know there’s a willing runner and he does similar with me so it’s worked well and we hope it will continue to work.”