Grantham Town vs South Shields Match Preview:

South Shields go away to Grantham Town on Saturday with manager Kevin Phillips looking to take his side into the playoffs in winning ways.  

The Mariners head to the South Kesteven Stadium having already secured 2nd place in the Northern Premier League, Premier Division  

Their opponents, Grantham Town, have had a poor season and are guaranteed to finish bottom of the league, with the club on 31 points after 41 games and four points behind their closest rivals going into the final day.  

Phillips is looking to add to a successful start to management with the Sunderland legend averaging a 50%-win ratio from his first 18 games as manager.  

The goals of top scorer JJ Hooper have been key this season and the striker will be looking to add to his 12 goals already this season.  

Recent Form  

Shields are looking to bounce back from their 3-2 defeat to Whitby Town last weekend.  

However, they still go into the final day in good form having won four of the previous 5 going into the game against Whitby.  

Grantham are unbeaten in their last two games after a 2-0 victory against fellow strugglers Hyde United and a 2-2 draw against Gainsborough Trinity.  

Their form before that does not make good reading with four losses out of four and Shields will be hoping the Gingerbreads show signs of a return to that form.  

Previous Meetings  

The reverse fixture back in August saw Shields run out 4-1 winners and they will be hoping for a similar result on Saturday.  

The Mariners have a good record against Grantham winning three of the last five including a 5-0-win in October 2018 and only losing once with a 2-1 loss later in that same season.  

Team News  

Shields will likely still be without midfielder Callum Ross however other than that Phillips should have a full-strength squad to pick from.  

Grantham defender Ellis Storey made his 100th appearance for the Gingerbreads last Monday and will be hoping to add to his tally on Saturday.  

Match Information  

Kick-off at the South Kesteven Stadium is at 15:00 on Saturday 30th April