Newspaper Clippings - Dick Butler - page 37
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Shields Gazette , Friday , April 4 , 1975-15 CIAL for Shields going revenge and 100th goal at ' Jack Clark ' Shields CHAMPIONSHIP FAVOURITES South Mariners , who have completed no fewer than eight doubles in their Northern Alliance programme , and a milestone . tomorrow go looking for revenge For at the Jack Clark Memorial Park ( 3.00 ) they take on Alston the team who gave the Shields defence its biggest going - over of the season . Back in October Shields travelled to Alston confident that they would tot up their eighth successive victory , and when Alan Suggett gave Shields the lead , a familiar story looked to be unfolding . But before the interval Alston pulled level , and in the second half they demoralised the Mariners with four goals in 25 minutes , Carver grabbing a hat - trick . Shields managed to make the score 5-3 , but Alston are still the only outfit to hit Shields for five . This time round Shields should win but no doubt they have noted that on Easter Monday Alston won 2-0 away over highly placed Alnwick Town , so if Shields are to maintain their 100 per cent home record they will need to eye Alston with respect . 24 points away from home Shields , who have the handsome goal average of 3.5 , also need just one more goal to complete their century in Alliance games this season but overall victory tomorrow will come before personal glory . To try to give any one particular player the honour of slotting in the 100th , would be unwise possibly fatal ; anyway , what does it matter who gets it . Shields ' championship challenge this season has been based on tremendous teamwork and team spirit rather than unpredictable individualism , and goals are the outcome of a lot of hard work by a lot of people . Goal No. 100 will be a tribute to the team , rather than a monument to any one player . 1 All Shields remaining five matches are at home , and they can reflect on an away programme that yielded 24 points out of a possible 32. Their home and away records in Northern Alliance games this season are : PW D L F A Pts 11 11 52 9 22 16 10 4 2 47 19 24 HOME AWAY 27 21 4 2 99 28 46 That's a most impressive set of figures for manager Bobby Elwell to savour , especially as it was achieved by a team hurriedly brought together last summer . Now the title is all but theirs , and they are hoping that from now until the end of the season more and more people will come along to support them and join their already loyal band of fans . Come and join ' em ! Ray calls off Liverpool trip Shields full back Jim McDonald , who pulled a muscle at Alnwick two weeks ago , seems certain to miss tomorrow's game , while centre back Jimmy Compton , who suffered an ankle injury against Seaham on Monday , and midfield player Ritchie Madden , sidelined with tonsillitis , are both extremely doubtful . Manager Bobby Elwell's match plans allow for the absence of all three , and he said : " If Compton pulls out , I'll push Billy Graham into the back four . " Midfield player Ray Young asked me four weeks ago if he could miss this weekend's game because he had been invited to a friend's wedding in Liverpool . I gave him the all - clear , but because of our injury situation he told me this week he would miss the Liverpool trip to help the club . " That's the sort of spirit we've got in the club . With players like Ray around we just can't miss . " Home games all the way now for league leaders Mariners AN Easter egg double over Seaham Red Star , gave South Shields the all - clear for the Alliance championship run - in , with their remaining five games all at home . challengers The crunch game at Seaham proved to be a triumph for teamwork , with Jimmy Robson ( 2 ) back ' on song ' and Kenny Parker on the target to round off this team win . Meantime Morpeth Town and Marine Park both won their Easter fixture double but really the pressure is on them rather than Shields , who meet Alston , Alnwick Town , Newcastle University , Bede College and finally Morpeth Town in an easier schedule . formality GOAL AVERAGE If the title seems a the race for runners - up and the Wright Memorial Shield which goes with it can be intriguing , as both Morpeth and Marine Park have lost 13 points to date , and of the two Marine have a superior goal average , so they could well pick up this honour . With 28 goals apiece in the Alliance league and Challenge Cup this season Jimmy Robson ( Shields ) and Colin Rutter ( Morpeth ) are having a rare tussle to decide the leading scorer this term . The Mariners have scored 99 goals to date from 27 league games and have a good chance of confining the goals conceded to one a game , a feat only Marine are likely to equal . WITHIN A POINT Last week Stockton grabbed a 2-1 win over Wallington after coming from behind to draw level by half - tide , then snatching a last minute counter to clinch the points . This brings the Teessiders to within a point of Greenwells who finish the season with four home games , but Stockton have the games in hand to get off the bottom place League finalists Cup Workington Reserves played several new trialists over Easter and this policy paid off with home wins against Bedlington ( 3-2 ) and Belford ( 4-1 ) . On this showing the League Cup final may not be the formality of Marine Park think , though it must be the formality Marine recently won 2-0 at Workington , after being held 1- 1 at home by the Reds in late September . OFF THE BOIL With only four games left to play Morpeth could well go " off the boil " as they have vacant dates today and April 26. In any event by the time they visit South Shields for the final game on Friday , May 2 , the title should be securely in the Mariners ' cupboard . Since Alston are resigning from the Alliance and there are doubts about the future plans of Stockton and Throckley Welfare it may well be that South Shields will aspire to more competitive football in a higher status league next season . PWD LA Pts 2 99 28 46 4 87 40 43 4 53 16 37 8 9 63 51 32 2 13 47 34 28 4 10 47 44 28 8 12 77 71 28 6 6 57 40 28 25 13 1 11 58 59 27 8 49 48 26 6 12 43 54 24 5 10 29 39 23 3 10 29 34 19 2 16 37 68 16 6 16 47 81 14 4 20 35 98 12 5 16 29 81 11 SS Mariners 27 21 4 Morpeth T. 28 19 5 Marine Pk . 25 16 5 Alnwick T . 29 12 Seaham RS 28 13 Wallington 26 12 Belford 30 10 Percy Main . 23 11 Alston Work'ton R. 26 8 10 Wallsend Ath 27 9 Bede Coll 24 9 N'ele Univ 21 8 Bed CW Throckley Greenwells Stockton 7 4 28 4 222 110 500 25 26 24 3 |
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