South Shields continued their unbeaten run at home by defeating King’s Lynn Town 2-0 to keep the pressure on at the top of the Vanarama National League North table.
King’s Lynn started the game the better of the two sides, with Ben Stephens missing a good early chance before Josh Barrett’s penalty was saved by Myles Boney.
The first goal of the game came midway through the second half when Paul Blackett found the back of the net.
Jordy Mongoy confirmed the win with a late strike from inside the penalty area.
South Shields made three changes from the team which drew at Warrington Town last weekend with Lirak Hasani, Luke James and Mackenzie Heaney coming into the side.
King’s Lynn had the better of the early stages, with Stephens missing a glorious chance to open the scoring when he fired wide after being sent through one-on-one.
Just minutes later the Linnets were given an even better chance to go ahead when Michael Woods was adjudged to have committed a foul in the box. However, Barrett’s effort from the spot was saved by Boney, who then brilliantly saved Barrett’s shot from the rebound to keep the scores level.
South Shields' first real chance of the game came after a scramble in the box when the ball fell to James, whose strike was blocked from close range.
The closest the Mariners came to opening the scoring in the first half was in the 38th minute when Blackett’s vicious effort struck the post before being cleared.
Shields pushed for the opener towards the end of the first half, with King’s Lynn keeper Paul Jones being called into action to deny Robert Briggs from the edge of the box in stoppage time.
The half ended with a last ditch tackle from Gary Liddle to deny King’s Lynn a clean shot at goal from close range.
The Mariners started the second half on top as Heaney’s shot from inside the box was deflected agonisingly wide.
From the resulting corner, the ball fell to Briggs at the edge of the area, with the midfielder’s effort going inches wide.
South Shields continued to push for the opener in the second half, with Jones saving from substitute CJ Clarke twice and Blackett in the space of a couple of minutes.
The Mariners' pressure paid off in the 64th minute, when Blackett opened the scoring after he latched onto James’ through ball and dribbled past two King’s Lynn defenders before slotting past Jones in the King’s Lynn goal.
The home side sealed the win in the 89th minute after Briggs played substitute Mongoy through with a quick free-kick which caught the King’s Lynn defence napping. Mongoy coolly found the bottom corner to remove all doubt of the result.
Boney made two late saves to preserve a deserved clean sheet.
Shields will aim to follow up this victory when they travel to Chorley on Tuesday.
South Shields: Boney, Lufudu, Adams (c), Liddle, Broadbent, Briggs, Woods (Clarke 46), Hasani, Heaney, Blackett (Mongoy 79), James (Martin 72). Subs not used: Smith, Abbey.
Goals: Blackett (64), Mongoy (89).
Attendance: 2,357.
Image: Kev Wilson.