Thanks to our great win at Whitby, we can now look to the end of season with some pressure removed. Okay we are not mathematically safe, but to get relegated now would need some strange results from those around us. Fresh from losing out on a valuable point at top of the table Farsley, we now entertain the league’s second placed club, fresh in our minds that we took 4 points off Warrington last month. I am sure that might have an effect on South Shields as they travel to us hoping to avenge last season’s FA Trophy defeat. They will be happy to know that Massiah McDonald no longer plays for us, but we
need to avenge our 3-0 defeat in the North East last August.

It has become a somewhat anecdotal statement in that ex Northern League sides do not travel well. Well this season South Shields have lost on the road to Buxton, Grantham and Hednesford to name 3 of their 7 away defeats. (they are glad their defeat at North Ferriby no longer exists) They also lost out in the cup away at Stratford. So perhaps we can be yet another Midlands side to keep their travelling hoodoo ongoing.

If you look at the history of South Shields Football Club it reads like a soap opera, of a former football league team, moving grounds and even towns, yet they still retain the year 1888 in their crest as their formation year although the current side is somewhat younger than that. A major change in the national non-league set-up came in 1968 with the formation of the Northern Premier League, and South Shields beat us to become founder members. The club was a member for six reasonably successful years, without making any significant impact but came to a close in 1974 due to insufficient match attendances and the distance from the town centre area and the total loss of the club, the ground of Simonside Hill and all effects. Reformation quickly followed, and South Shields Mariners FC, was born, though competing in very different circumstances to its predecessors.

It had to overcome the immediate problem of starting with nothing, neither ground, committee, money, players, manager etc, and a league that would accept it of reasonable stature. The lack of a ground with adequate and sufficient facilities to satisfy the required criteria of the Northern League saw them compete in Northern Alliance League and the Wearside League. They acquired the former Filtrona FC and gradual upgrading and development of Filtrona Park saw
promotion to the First Division of the Northern League. Lease problems at Filrona Park saw yet another temporary move to Peterlee, 20 miles away. This exile from South Tyneside lasted for two seasons, and during that time, the club faced a real battle to survive, with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel.

In the summer of 2015, the club and subsequently bought Filtrona Park, which was renamed Mariners Park, and progression through the Northern League saw the bold move into the non league pyramid with promotion into the Northern Premier League Division 1 North, and then into the Premier League with National League football one of the goals earmarked. Perhaps we may be able to stem that move forward by denying them the automatic promotion route, but South Shields do sit
comfortable in the play off group.​ Please note that due to a darts tournament taking place in the Social Club, that car parking will be severely limited, so please make use of the streets in the Astonfields industrial estate.

Games played on 20th April this century.
2002 Cambridge City H 3-0 Southern Premier League.
2013 AFC Fylde A 1-0 Northern premier League.
2015 Leek Town – 1-0 Staffs Senior Cup Final at Port Vale​