Danny Stewart reports from Mariners Park…
Bobby Grant’s side put up a heroic second half fightback but ultimately left the Wolf Competitions Stadium empty-handed after a 2-1 defeat to South Shields. While the result leaves the Mariners craving points, the sheer grit, determination, and utter dominance shown by the Crosby side in the second half proves they are more than capable of matching the top sides in the National League North.
The first 45 minutes felt all too familiar against an unbeaten, high-flying South Shields side. Marine found themselves pinned back early on as the hosts dictated the tempo. The breakthrough came in the 31st minute when the ever dangerous Paul Blackett found space to fire home.
Before Marine could dust themselves off, a defensive lapse just six minutes later allowed Campbell to double their lead. Heading into the tunnel 2-0 down at half time, the away end feared the worst against last season’s runners-up.
Whatever Bobby Grant said at the break completely transformed his side. They came out like a team possessed and got the perfect start their early second half dominance deserved.
In the 48th minute, skipper Josh Wardle pounced on an opportunity to bundle the ball into the back of the net, after Fin Sinclair-Smith’s low cross into the box evaded a multitude of bodies, sending the travelling Marine faithful into raptures and completely shifting the momentum of the match. From that moment on, it was total Marine dominance. The Mariners didn’t give Shields a single second to breathe, controlling possession, winning every second ball, and launching wave after wave of attack.
Around the hour mark, Marine’s Leigh Whelan won a crucial battle in the centre of the pitch. The ball was worked out wide quickly to Sinclair-Smith, shifting the South Shields defensive block and creating a pocket of space at the edge of the area.
Midfielder Ben Darby, brought on to inject energy into the attack, read the play perfectly. He drifted past his marker to latch onto a sharp cross field pass. Without hesitation, Darby let fly with a powerful first time strike that beat the South Shields goalkeeper completely, only to rattle violently off the post.
Grant rolled the tactical dice with late substitutions – bringing on Huby and Bairstow to bolster the Mariners forward push – but despite a frantic, nerve wracking finale where Marine camped in their eighteen-yard box, the equalizer just wouldn’t fall for them.
And so attention now turns to Darlington at the MTA on Saturday, and the pursuit of another 3 points. A performance that resembles anything like their second half showing here, and they will soon start climbing the Enterprise National League North table.
Marine: McIntyre, Abankwah, Doyle, Drysdale, Wardle (C), Whelan (Bairstow 86), Sinclair-Smith, McDonald (Huby 83), Newell (Kattah 75), Hilton (McAleny 46), Lawless (Darby 46).
Unused Subs – Barrett, Butler.
MOTM: Declan Drysdale.
Attendance: 1,434