Watson hoping for MK Dons reunion as South Shields earn FA Cup first round spot

South Shields manager Ian Watson is eyeing a reunion with former club MK Dons after the Mariners claimed a place in the FA Cup first round with a dominant win against Southern League club Spalding United.

Watson had demanded professionalism and intensity from his players as they looked to avoid an upset at the 1st Cloud Arena and it would be safe to say those demands were met as they strolled into the first round proper for the third time in six seasons with a prolific display.

A lot of the hard work was done inside the opening 20 minutes as a brace from top goalscorer Paul Blackett and a neat finish from former Sunderland youngster Caden Kelly all but ended any thoughts of falling to a surprise defeat on home soil. Blackett went from goalscorer to goal creator in the early stages of the second half as he set up Cedwyn Scott to add a fourth goal of the day and that was enough to ensure the Mariners will go into Monday night’s first round draw.

A whole host of League One and League Two clubs will join the Mariners in the hat and the prospect of a tie with former Premier League clubs such as Luton Town, Cardiff City, Bolton Wanderers and Bradford City remains a possibility. However, Watson admitted he would be keen to secure a tie with former club MK Dons after spending two separate spells with the League Two outfit prior to his summer appointment at South Shields.

“I would love an MK Dons tie, that would mean a lot to me,” admitted the Mariners boss after the win. “They are special people there and I had a special time there but I would love a big draw for the boys. I had 12 months last year, everything was tough, every day was tough and football became tough. I love the game, I love football and these boys have given me some of that love back so for them, I would love to get a big game.”

Dominance

There were just eight minutes on the clock when the Mariners broke through their visitors as top goalscorer Blackett produced an overhead kick that somehow found its way beyond visitors goalkeeper James Dadge. Eyes were cast towards the on-loan Northampton Town stopper on the quarter-hour mark when he was unable to prevent Kelly’s angled drive nestling inside the far corner of his net despite getting a hand to the shot.

The dominance continued as the midway point of the first half approached and a third goal of the day seemed almost inevitable. It duly arrived when Blackett was released in on goal by a well-weighted pass from Will Jenkins and he took a touch to settle himself before rifling a low drive under the helpless Dadge. The former Gateshead and Spennymoor Town striker could and should have completed a first-half hat-trick just seconds before the break when he could only fire against Dadge’s legs after finding his way in behind the Tulips defence once again.

However, there was a consolation of sorts for Blackett less than two minutes after the restart as he found space on the left-hand side and delivered a sumptuous cross that cut out the visitors defence and allowed Scott to divert the ball into the roof of the net to stretch the lead to four.

That appeared to be the signal for a dropping of the tempo and pace from both sides as any thoughts of what was always an unlikely comeback were vanquished - although there was still time for Mariners goalkeeper Jasper Sheik to remind everyone of his unquestionable talent.

The former Crawley Town youngster’s distribution had been a highlight of the game - but he showed he is equally proficient with his hands as he produced a quite unbelievable reaction save from point blank range when a combination of on-loan Sunderland youngster Oli Bainbridge and a visitors forward had diverted a cross goalwards. That was enough to preserve Sheik’s clean sheet and ensure South Shields progressed into the first round with minimal fuss.

Satisfaction

For Watson, there was great satisfaction in watching on as his three attacking players all found the net and made the most of some scintillating attacking play - and the Mariners boss revealed that had been the end product of some hard working on the training pitch throughout recent weeks.

He said: “We are really blessed with a full squad of incredible footballers and we have them at the top end of the pitch. They know where the net is, they know how to get goals and we work with them a lot on the areas to arrive. The boys behind them build the game up really well and they make sure we have the ball in the right areas to make sure we thrive. That’s why we play how we play, we don’t just pass the ball for the sake of it. We pass the ball because I want to get the ball in certain areas where we can hurt the opposition and I thought we were fantastic.”

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

Spalding United: Dadge, Sembie-Farris, Bondswell, Moore, Johnson, Bendle, Roberts (Hart), Thompson (Lawlor), Cybulski, Sano-Sani, Ceesay (Nicholson) Subs: Jones, Roberts, Blythe, McCammon

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