SOUTH SHIELDS PREVIEW

Sunderland travel to South Shields for their second preseason friendly, only a few hours after playing away to Gateshead. Here’s some background on our opponents:

LAST SEASON

South Shields finished 17th in the National League North, falling nine positions from the previous season and picking up just five points from their concluding ten matches. In the cup competitions, the Mariners were knocked out of the FA Cup in the second qualifying round and exited the FA Trophy in the second round.

THE MANAGER

39-year-old Ian Watson was appointed in May of this year. As a player he turned out for the likes of Whitley Bay, Blyth Spartans, Darlington and Spennymoor Town. He retired at the end of 2018 to take up a position as assistant manager of Gateshead under Mike Williamson, during his time there the club were relegated to the sixth tier but were able to earn promotion back up to the National League. Watson moved to MK Dons in 2023, alongside Williamson, and helped the club to a finish inside the League Two playoff spots. Ian left MK Dons with Williamson early in the following campaign to move to Carlisle United. 25 games later, Williamson was sacked but Watson remained in Cumbria for a few more matches prior to returning to Milton Keynes. In 13 games there, he worked under two managers and then left the club to take up his current role as manager of South Shields.

THE STADIUM

Mariners Park became the home of South Shields in 1992, formerly being used by the Filtrona factory’s football team. In the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons the Mariners had to move out and play at Eden Lane, the stadium of Peterlee FC, due to the former chairman wanting to sell. For the last 10 years, the 1st Cloud Arena (it’s sponsored name) has been in continuous use by SSFC. It has a capacity of 4,000, with 1,100 seats, and its record attendance was set in July 2023 for a game between Sunderland and South Shields with the stadium reaching 100% capacity.

NOTABLE PLAYERS

South Shields’ number one goalkeeper left this summer for Matlock Town. Their second choice is 20-year-old Kyle Seymour, who played 15 times last season, although they have recently completed the signing of Crawley Town goalkeeper Jasper Sheik. Shields’ top scorer last time out was striker Paul Blackett, netting 22 goals in 42 games. Blackett was also the club’s joint-best playmaker with seven assists, a tally equalled by left winger Kyle Crossley and left sided midfielder Mackenzie Heaney. Central midfielder and captain Rob Briggs featured in all 48 of the club’s competitive fixtures last term. They currently have two former Sunderland players amongst their ranks, centre mid Martin Smith and new signing attacking midfielder Caden Kelly. Left winger Sean McGurk is another new face, joining the club from League Two Swindon Town.

PREDICTION

I think we’ll win this one due to the difference in quality and that we’ll probably score a few, we aren’t up to full fitness yet though and there’ll likely be academy players involved (plus South Shields will want to give a good account of themselves) so I think the home side will score. 6-1 Sunderland.