Sunderland legend labels South Shields ace "best player" in Northern Premier League

Heaney scored twice – including a goal of the season contender from near the halfway line – as the Mariners stormed to a 4-0 victory at Marske United on Saturday.

The result extended Shields’ unbeaten run to nine matches – seven of which have been wins – and they have a nine-point lead at the top of the table.

Tuesday is one of two games they have in hand on second-placed Hyde United, with the Mariners now having just 10 fixtures remaining.

Shields manager Phillips is delighted with the way his side are performing, and reserved particular praise for Heaney.

He said: “For me, Mackenzie Heaney is the best player in the league at the moment by a country mile.

“I don’t generally single players out in the dressing room, but I felt it was right to do that on Saturday.

“His attitude, application and work-rate are incredible, but he also has the quality, and he has come such a long way this season.

“Those goals have been coming and I see him do that in training every day, cutting in and bending it in that corner.

“When he does that, he’s unplayable because he can go either way.”

Matlock are chasing a play-off place, and are just four points outside the top five heading into Tuesday’s match.

The sides met at 1st Cloud Arena in mid-February, when Shields salvaged a point in a 1-1 draw thanks to a late equaliser from Lewis Alessandra.

Phillips added: “We’re going there full of confidence.

“We played them not so long ago and it was a tight game, although we probably deserved to win it with the chances we had.

“We know what to expect, but we’ve got an opportunity to go there and get a result.

“We respect Matlock and they’ve got quality in their team, but it’s about what we do.

“If we apply ourselves as we did on Saturday, we have an opportunity to get some more points on the board and get one step closer to where we all want to be.”

Phillips added: “There’s something really special happening here at the moment with these players.

“As staff, we can only do so much and then it’s up to the players when they cross that white line.

“There are still 10 games to go and I won’t let complacency slip into the squad.

“It’s about their application as individuals because we’ve got the quality.”

Shields are expected to remain without injured defender Dillon Morse, but hope to have an otherwise full-strength squad to choose from.

Kick-off at the Proctors Cars Stadium – which has a post code of DE4 3AR – is at 7.45pm, and admission prices are £12 for adults, £8 for concessions, £5 for those aged 16 to 18, £3 for children aged 10 to 15 and free for Under-10s. Cash and card payments will be accepted at the turnstiles.