Marine 2-2 South Shields; Enterprise NLN Saturday 24th January 2026
Tom Murphy reports from the MTA…
Marine and South Shields shared the spoils after an eventful ending to the game in Merseyside.
The first half really struggled to get going with the visitors seeing lots of the ball in the opening stages.
Against the run of play, Marine’s Finlay Sinclair-Smith thought he had found the opening goal only to see his strike smack against the left hand side post.
Just a minute later, Sonny Finch found the top left corner with what looked like a cross to give his side the lead after 26 minutes.
Whilst being behind Marine struggled to create anything from open play and looked best suited from set pieces which is where they looked most dangerous.
South Shields continued to dominate the ball and frustrate the Marine fans and players throughout the remainder of the first half.
After a scramble in the box Adam Anson forced the ball over the line to give his side an equaliser on 51 minutes after a positive start to the second half.
Marine, who more than matched South Shields in the second half, began to enjoy lots more of the ball after forcing the away side into mistakes when in possession.
In the 92nd minute of the game, substitute James Potter thought he had found the winner after a composed finish past the keeper after great work from Matty McDonald.
With the last kick of the game, Oliver Bainbridge broke Marine hearts with an overhead kick from a corner to salvage a point for the visitors.
Referee: Oliver Noonan
Marine (4-2-3-1): Barnsley: Brown (Martin 70’), Wardle, Anson, Thomas; Fielding, Whelan; Sinclair Smith, McDonald, Jolley (Abbey 44’); Zanzala (Potter 80’).
Unused subs: McIntyre, Huby, Bell.
South Shields (4-2-3-1): Watson; Dodds, Tinkler, Mann, Bainbridge; Alcock (Robson 62’), Jenkins; Finch, Scott, McGurk (Ward 62’); Wheeldon (Blackett 84’).
Unused subs: Skyes, Morse, Savage, Sloan.
Attendance: 1,476