Women continue pre-season at Birtley

New signing Becca Emery could make her debut for South Shields Women in this Sunday's friendly against Birtley Ladies at Ford Hub (2pm kick-off). This will be the Mariners’ second run-out in pre-season, off the back of a six-goal thriller against Gateshead Ladies last weekend. The 5-1 victory will give the team much confidence heading into the Birtley tie, and head coach Matt Gatiss is looking forward to the fixture in Sunderland.

Head coach’s views Gatiss said: “It’s another chance to get minutes into the legs, to get people playing. “We’ve got a couple of new signings who are going to look to start, and we’ve got a couple of players who are trying to start too. “Trialists as well, and it’ll be a case of trying to give them that game time as well as still honing some of the key principles that we’ve looked at. “It’s an opportunity to do that. It’s at Ford Hub so the pitch is going to be class and give us a really good opportunity to work through that and force the practice as much as we can.”

Information for supporters The fixture, originally set to take place at Birtley Sports Complex, has been moved to Ford Hub (SR4 0RW). A free QR code is needed to get in, and supporters can register for a Leisure United account to obtain one which they can scan at the barriers.

FA Cup draw

Meanwhile, the lasses will face Alnwick Town Ladies at home in the second qualifying round of the Women’s FA Cup.

The two NERWFL Premier Division sides will meet on Sunday, October 1st, with the time and venue yet to be announced.

Gatiss will be hoping his side can fare better in the cup than they did in the league against Alnwick - Shields fell to two defeats last season when they lost out 2-4 and 3-0.

The Mariners will face Alnwick in the league just two weeks later, giving the team an extra incentive to make things count in the cup.

The team reached the third qualifying round last season before losing out to fourth-tier Leeds United 1-5.

Image: Craig McNair / ID Event Photography.