Avoid thoughts of Wembley
Supporters’ Player of the season in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 campaigns.
A versatile defender, Smith has been vital to Shields not only as a player but as an influential figure over the past few years.
Winning the Vase would be a perfect way to cap his time with the club as they move up and out of the Northern League.
An FA Vase Final goalscorer in 2013 with Spennymoor Town, Cogdon has taken the Northern League Division 1 by storm. He, Finnigan and David Foley have each scored at least 30 goals this season in a devastating partnership.
A scorer of important goals, Cogdon netted the opener in Spennymoor’s Evo-Stik Division One North play-off final in 2016.
He also sealed the Northern League Cup final result for his side with three goals against North Shields and he is heading to Wembley in a blistering vein of form. about Wembley because they’ve got their tickets or they’re taking their family down and all of a sudden you were thinking about it again. There was no way you could put it to one side because everyone was reminding you about it.
“That’s a good thing as well because it kept you fresh and kept you remembering you’ve achieved something fantastic, so why not think about it?”
Finnigan’s strike partner Gavin Cogdon played – and scored – in the 2013 final for Spennymoor Town, but there is more than just experience which has made keeping his focus easier in 2017.
“This time I’ve managed it quite well because we’ve had so many
A model professional, Shaw has done the rounds of professional clubs during his 14-year career. He’s turned out for Sheffield Wednesday, Burton Albion and Gateshead, among many others, before signing for the Mariners last summer.
He has been deployed as a striker throughout the majority of his career, but has switched to a centreback role under Fenton. The results have been fantastic.
A natural leader, Shaw won both Players’ Player of the Year and Supporters’ Player of the Year as the Mariners powered their way to a treble this season. Shaw will be hoping to help them to turn this into a quadruple.
Foley is another South Shields player who has a penchant for travelling, having turned out for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Puerto Rico Islanders.
GAVIN COGDON JON SHAW
things happen,” he says. “You’re turning up and there are so many good players around you and you’re well aware of that and you want to play at Wembley. To do that you’ve got to be playing well.
“I’m quite happy that I’ve been able to focus on every game.”
Co-manager Graham Fenton and Lee Picton have been able to use the threat of missing out on the big day to keep eyes on the ball.
“We’ve rotated the squad having An ex-Hartlepool forward, he signed for Shields in 2015 and has helped them to back-to-back promotions.
He remains the youngest ever player to turn out for ‘Pools, and the high point of his career so far was scoring a long-range strike to seal an FA Cup giant-killing over Stoke City.
If he was to lift the FA Vase with Shields on Sunday, then he may just have an even more special moment to cherish.
DAVID FOLEY
so many games and we’ve got the luxury because we’ve got such a good squad,” says Finnigan. “It’s a great group of lads and the attitudes are fantastic so no matter what the situation is we’ve all dug in and helped each other out. “The end goal has been Wembley so everyone each game has been playing for the opportunity to be in that starting XI. “I wouldn’t say it’s on your mind but you would obviously think about it Carl Finnigan because if you got injured and it was a serious one you would miss the game and you’d be absolutely devastated after all the hard work put in.
“But if have that thought in your mind you’re more likely to come out with a problem. The key is to commit to whatever you’re doing and nine times out of ten you’ll be fine and if it (injury) happened, it happened. You can’t influence that.”
Manchester United’s Jose Mourinho seems to have done nothing but talk about fixture congestion as his team close in on this season’s Europa League, but Finnigan has no such complaints. He lives in the tough world of Northern League football. “We have had an immense schedule these last two months – we had two games a week for nearly eight weeks and a couple of weeks where we had to squeeze three games in,” he says.
“Our schedule’s been hectic but we have had a bit of a rest here and there, we’ve not had the same XI playing every week.
“Three cups and winning the league means we’ve played every single game available this season but not once has anybody in our squad said, ‘I cannot believe how many games we’ve played.’
“If anything it’s excited us because we’ve had such good support and the atmosphere and the way this club is has made it a pleasure. It’s not been a chore, it’s been excitement and pleasure.”