Shields let a big lead slip

SOUTH Shields’ joint-manager Lee Picton refused to blame the windy conditions after his side was held to a home draw against Bamber Bridge.

The Mariners went into the game with high hopes of returning to the top of the Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division table.

Those hopes were raised even further when goals from Nathan Lowe, Jon Shaw and Robert Briggs gave the hosts a 3-1 lead as they headed into the last 10 minutes of the game.

However, the spoils were shared as quickfire strikes from Brig duo Adam Dodd and Chris Marlow left the Mariners playing catch-up in their title challenge.

Picton said: “When you score three goals at home it should be good enough to win a game.

“To be fair, in the last few minutes it could have been an even worse result for us.

“We need to go away and have a real good look at our organisation because we felt, for whatever reason, we looked a lot less organised than we usually are.”