First chance for fans to see new arrivals

GATESHEAD fans get their first chance to see some of the new summer arrivals this evening.

The Heed make the short journey across town to face Northern Premier League East side Dunston FC.

Gateshead’s two warm-up games so far have been training ground affairs at Sunderland and Newcastle United.

The Tynesiders faced the might of the Magpies first-team squad at Benton on Saturday and acquitted themselves well.

Three late goals saw the Premier League hosts claim a 5-1 win, though it was more about the work out than the final score for both sides.

Gateshead now face two non-league friendlies this week as they count down to the opening day of the Vanarama National League season on the first Saturday in August.

Mike Williamson takes his men to Conference North outfit Spennymoor Town on Saturday ahead of a double-header at Darlington and Hebburn next Tuesday.

A few players have yet to feature in pre-season, including the influential Adam Campbell and defenders Carl Magnay and Elliot Forbes.

Williamson, pictured, has indicated he will shuffle the pack this week for some tricky tests to come. He said: “I was really pleased with the performance against Newcastle. The score is what it is, but we really enjoyed it and played some really good stuff in patches. We have got plenty of minutes now coming up and we are going to mix a few elevens.

“There will be games when we mix young lads with the first team, and then there’ll be certain games we’ll really focus on our patterns and the way we want to play.

“We want to be at the right levels when the season comes, fresh and ready to go.”

Dunston include a number of prominent former Gateshead players in Wembley duo Craig Baxter and Phil Turnbull and record breaking goal scorer Jon Shaw.