South Shields to face familiar foe in National League North play-off semi-final

South Shields will face old foes Buxton in Saturday’s National League North play-off semi-final after the Derbyshire outfit saw off Scarborough Athletic in an elimination round tie on Tuesday night.

The Mariners were forced to settle for a play-off spot after they suffered a 1-0 defeat at Kidderminster Harriers on Saturday as promotion rivals AFC Fylde clinched top spot and automatic promotion into the National League with a win at Merthyr Town. Ian Watson’s men knew they would face a home tie in the semi-final and they now know they will host Buxton on Saturday afternoon in the latest of a series of meetings of the two sides in recent seasons.

The Bucks secured their semi-final spot with a 4-2 win against Scarborough on Tuesday night as the two sides scored six goals in the second-half after failing to open the scoring in the opening 45 minutes. Efforts from Seadogs duo Stephen Walker and Harry Green were not enough for their side as Buxton progressed thanks to a brace rom Cian Coleman and a goal apiece from Luke Brennan and former Mariners loan signing Ashton Mee.

The meeting will evoke some memories of the Northern Premier League Premier Division semi-final between South Shields and Buxton as the Mariners progressed into the final with a 4-2 win thanks to two goals from striker Carl Finnigan and efforts from Jon Shaw and Josh Gillies before thoughts of promotion were ended by a penalty shoot-out defeat at Warrington Town. The Bucks exacted a measure of revenge when they claimed the NPL title in 2022 with a three-point advantage of South Shields before the Mariners finally secured their promotion into the National League North under former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips 12 months later. There has been little to choose between the two sides during the current season as Ian Watson’s side were forced to battle back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw at the 1st Cloud Arena in August before the points were shared with a 1-1 draw at Silverlands in January.

‘Massive occasion’

Mariners boss Watson has already called for his side to show the right mentality as they look to move within 90 minutes of a potential promotion into the National League as he looked forward to another ‘massive occasion’ at the 1st Cloud Arena.

Speaking after Saturday’s defeat at Kidderminster ended his side’s title hopes, he said: “It makes it a little bit more difficult because you would like to know who you’re playing so you can do a little work. But the teams aren’t preparing to play us, they’re preparing to place each other on the Tuesday so we will watch that game and look forward to whoever it is.

“It’s a massive occasion and we have to remember we are creating something really special at this football club and whatever happens, this isn’t going to be it because we are only going in one direction. It’s important we stick together and work as hard as we can to prepare for next Saturday.”

Kick-off at the 1st Cloud Arena has been scheduled for 4pm on Saturday.

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