In-form South Shields FC youngster can still improve - Mike Williamson

Mike Williamson believes there is more to come from in-form South Shields midfielder Toby Onanaye after his two-goal display in Saturday’s win at Oxford City helped the Mariners move to the top of the National League North table.

The former Leicester City academy midfielder caught the eye during preparations for Williamson’s first season in charge at Mariners Park and has really found his feet in recent weeks with some very impressive displays. After finding the net in last weekend’s home win against Chester, the 20-year-old hit a first-half brace as Williamson’s men claimed a stunning 3-1 win at Oxford that ensured they replaced their hosts at the summit.

Reflecting on Onanaye’s latest heroics, Williamson stressed the youngster ‘has so many areas to get better’ but inisted the midfielder’s willingness to learn means he can continue to improve over the coming weeks and months.

He said: “He deserves all of the praise and the accolades because he works so hard and he wants to learn. He’s in the meeting room all of the time, asking questions, watching his clips back, doing extras with Harra after training. He has so many areas to get better and that’s not being disrespectful but you can see his athleticism, his willingness and he’s on form at the minute at the top end of the pitch so long may it continue.”

‘Real grit’

Williamson delivered an understandably positive assessment of his side’s performance at the RAW Charging Stadium as they rounded off an impressive week that has pushed them into the lead position in the race for promotion into the National League.

After following up their home win against Chester with a battling three points at Spennymoor Town in midweek, a trip to the now-former league leaders was always likely to provide a sizeable test for the Mariners. However, Onanaye’s first-half brace and another goal for top scorer Paul Blackett set the foundations for a crucial win despite Evan Humphries giving City some hope with a goal just after the half-hour. Williamson’s side didn’t have it all their own way as Khanya Leshabela was shown a red card during the second-half - but the Mariners held out and that allowed their head coach to praise the ‘real grit’ shown by his players.

He said: “I don’t think we can underestimate how good the opponent was firstly. We have watched them and the manager, the staff, they’re really good staff and there’s a really good feel around the place. Coming here, we knew we had to be at our best if we wanted to get anything from it and we started off really well. We knew if we could break their initial press, we could hurt them on the top line and the boys were phenomenal in the first half. Our attacking play was very good but we still needed to do a few of the uglier things a little bit better. We did that really well so there was so much personality, perseverance and character to be able to see that. Going down to ten men made it harder for us but you saw some real grit there, which was pleasing.”

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