FA Cup exit as Shields suffer their first defeat
Marske United inflicted a first defeat of the season on South Shields as they ended the Mariners’ participation in the Emirates FA Cup.
The Seasiders struck three times in the second half at Mount Pleasant to eliminate Shields at the second qualifying round stage of the competition.
The Mariners were without their usual wing-back pairing of Jordan Hunter and Blair Adams, who both missed out with injuries, while Dan Martin made his debut a day after joining on loan from Accrington Stanley.
It was Marske – who defeated Shields 3-2 in pre-season – who had the better early opportunities, though, with a series of efforts from just outside the area by Glen Butterworth offering an indication of their threat.
Both sides were mainly restricted to strikes from distance in the opening exchanges, and the closest the Mariners came was a sweet hit by Martin which cleared the crossbar.
There were signs of encouragement for Shields as the first half progressed, with Darius Osei sparking them into life with a rampaging run from the halfway line before firing over when he advanced into a shooting position.
Boyes latched onto a straight ball over the top and used his strength before producing a precise finish into the bottom corner with his left foot.
The Mariners were punished when Curtis Round doubled Marske’s lead 11 minutes from the end, brilliantly chipping the ball home from the left of the area following a pass by Boyes.
Craig Gott completed the scoring with a crisp finish into the bottom corner.