Rob Ramshaw and Tom Allan got the goals as Moors came from behind to beat South Shields at The Brewery and claim a place in Round Three of the FA Trophy.
All the goals came within a first half that Moors dominated and Graeme Lee’s men should probably have scored more goals to finish off their rivals after the break.
Moors started the game on the front foot and almost went 1-0 up when Reece Staunton’s vicious drive was well pushed away by Shields keeper Myles Boney in the opening stages.
However, Shields snatched the opening goal on 7 minutes when they nicked possession on the edge of the Moors area and Will Jenkins steered a clinical finish into the bottom corner.
The setback didn’t deter Moors and they continued to dominate. Junior Mondal fizzed a powerful shot just too high before Allan cut inside dangerously from the right only to see his effort deflected wide.
The equaliser arrived just before the half-hour mark. Staunton bullied his way to the byline on the left of the box and fired a cross to the front post from where Ramshaw cleverly flicked it beyond Boney to make it 1-1.
Lee’s side were then 2-1 up 10 minutes later and this time Ramshaw was the creator. The midfielder pulled a high ball out of the sky with a sumptuous first touch before sending Allan through on goal with his second and the on-loan attacker did the rest with a neat finish into the bottom corner.
The visitors attempted to get a foothold with a change of shape at half time and, while that did at least see them spend more time on the ball, it was Moors who remained the greater attacking threat.
Mondal was denied by good goalkeeping from Boney after escaping in behind the hesitant Shields defence, while Allan headed just over after being picked out by Staunton’s pinpoint cross.
Staunton then tried his luck with a direct free kick from the right corner of the box which just didn’t dip enough, before substitute Will Harris fired a venomous effort over the bar after great work from Callum Ross.
There was even time for substitute Finley Shrimpton to come close to announcing his arrival back on loan with a goal but Boney darted from his line to smother at the midfielder’s feet.
In the end, Moors couldn’t find that third goal but they did hold on for victory and will now find out their opponents when the draw for Round Three is made on Monday.
Full Time: Moors 2 South Shields 1
Moors: James, Dyson, Ledger, Beals, Staunton, Ross, Dolan (Shrimpton 75); Allan, Ramshaw, McKeown; Mondal (Harris 68).
Subs not used: Johnson, Luck, McGinley.
Booked: Ross, Beals, Ramshaw.
South Shields: Boney, Morse, Briggs, Bramwell (Crossley 46), Richards, Smith (Taylor 66), Mee, Heaney, De Bolle, Jenkins, Dudik (Blackett 89).
Subs not used: Seymour, Shepherd.
Referee: Luis Griffiths
Attendance: 1,052 (189 South Shields)
