Sunderland legend targets South Shields promotion after FA Cup exit

The League One side looked a class above the Mariners during a largely dominant first-half display and they took the lead just before the half-hour mark with a header from former Sunderland striker Connor Wickham.

But there was a noted improvement after half-time as Phillips’ men showed greater enthusiasm and produced more moments of quality to begin putting their visitors under serious pressure for the first time in the contest.

Michael Woods and Dillon Morse both went close with headers within ten minutes of the restart and Blair Adams struck the side-netting with an angled drive after getting on the end of a stunning cross-field pass from Martin Smith.

Mackenzie Heaney curled a free-kick just off target as the closing-stages approached and there was almost a stunning equaliser from defender Tom Broadbent as he volley dipped just beyond the far post as the game made its way into injury-time.

The visitors landed the decisive blow moments later when Wickham stunned the 1st Cloud Arena with a brilliant long-range effort to see his side through and leave Phillips and the Mariners to focus on Tuesday night’s crucial home clash with league leaders Hyde United.

Speaking after the game, the Mariners boss told The Gazette: “An FA Cup run can help (a league title bid) but it can hinder.

“Hyde United will come here looking to jump on the disappointment so I can’t afford to let that happen. I’ve said to the players, yes, you are disappointed, but when you wake up tomorrow morning the focus is on Tuesday.

“We are desperate to get out of this league and I’ve said if they play like they did in the second-half for the rest of the season we should win the league. We know we aren’t going to play like that every game, but we just keep going.

“We will score goals and I can’t stress enough just how proud I am of these players.”

Phillips explained the reasons behind his side’s subdued first-half performance as they looked to contain a lively Forest Green side.

The Mariners boss revealed his side’s much-improved second-half display was the result of some discussions in the home dressing room during the interval and praised his players for making life uncomfortable for Ian Burchnall’s side after the interval.

“Sometimes you can’t go gung-ho to start off with because good teams will pass it around you. We’ve shown a bit too much respect in the first-half but they’ve never really carved us open time-after-time.

“Yes, they’ve had a lot of possession and scored, from our point of view, a soft goal after a cross, but we knew we could get to half, go in, have a chat and tweak it, up the pressure and say we wouldn’t come off the pitch with any regrets.”

South Shields: Boney, Newton, Broadbent, Liddle, Morse (Briggs), Smith, Mottley-Henry, Woods, Alessandra (Hunter), Heaney, Adams Subs: Doherty, Dobson, Gomes, Ross, Marriott, HodgsonForest Green Rovers: Thomas, O’Keefe, Bernard, Casey, Cargill, Boyes, Hendry (McAllister), Bunker, Little, Whickham, Matt (March) Subs: McGee, Marques, Robertson, Peart-Harris, O’Brien, Fiabema