Watson hails 'incredible' South Shields after FA Cup win against Chorley

South Shields manager Ian Watson described his players as ‘incredible’ after they claimed a place in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round with a comfortable home win against National League North rivals Chorley.

With confidence flowing on the back of a ten-game unbeaten run in all competitions, the Mariners were on form from the first minutes as their pressure and intensity threatened to stifle their visitors before the game had really got going. Despite that early pressure, an opening goal did not arrive until the midway point of the first-half as midfielder Will Jenkins fired a rising shot beyond Magpies goalkeeper Matt Urwin.

That lead was doubled just before the half-hour mark with a penalty from striker Paul Blackett and two became three with quarter of an hour remaining as former Hartlepool United wing-back Dan Dodds got in on the act. That latter of those strikes kickstarted a frantic three minutes as the visitors reduced the arrears with a bizarre own goal before the Mariners restored their three-goal advantage within 60 seconds as Jenkins doubled his tally for the day.

That was enough to kill of any lingering doubts over the outcome of the game and left Watson to praise the work-rate and movement of his players as they moved to within 90 minutes of a potential visit to the FA Cup first round proper.

He told The Gazette: “The scoreline would make it look like we make light work of it - but in football there’s no such thing as making light work of it. I thought we worked really hard, we stuck to our game plan really well and we maintained our structure for the main part of the game.

“We got sloppy at times, we played the scoreboard at times but for most of the game I thought the boys were incredible, worked hard, moved the ball really well and we created a lot of chances. The scoreline says it ended four-one but I think it could have looked a bit better to be honest because we created so many chances.”

Preference

The Mariners will now take their place in Monday’s fourth and final qualifying round draw as they look to reach the first round proper for the third time in six seasons. National League clubs will enter the competition for the first time this season and that could mean a potential meeting with the likes of pre-season opponents Hartlepool United or Watson’s former club Gateshead.

However, the Mariners boss was unmoved when asked if had any thoughts on who he would like to see his side paired with when the balls come out of the velvet bag in Monday’s draw.

“No preference, it’s not really something I think about,” he explained. “Even home or away, it doesn’t bother me, whoever we face, we face. Simple as that. We’ll have a game plan and we will attack the game whoever it is.”

On the basis of this performance and his side’s current form, who can blame him?

South Shields: Sheik, Tinkler, Bainbridge, Sykes (Savage), Morse (Mann), Blackett (Alcock), Jenkins, Scott, Kelly (Ward), Dodds, Carson Subs: Smith, Walsh

Chorley: Urwin, Ellis, Nolan (Calveley), Hewitt, Moore (Henley), Summerfield, Blakeman (Clarke), Lalkovic (Walker), Whitehouse (Carr), Ibbitson, Pratt Subs: Smith, Bird

Your next football read: Ex-Sunderland manager blasts ‘sneaky’ Alan Shearer for what he did whilst at Newcastle United