Moors fell to heavy defeat on Boxing Day as South Shields underlined their position as National League North leaders with a rampant display at The 1st Cloud Arena.
Cedwyn Scott had the hosts up by three at the break, helping himself to a first half hat-trick, before further goals from Todd Alcock, Dan Dodds and Paul Blackett in the second period rounded-off an afternoon of domination for the hosts.
With no hint of what was to come, it was Moors who threatened first, Corey McKeown snatching possession and driving down the left before slipping the ball inside for Tom Pugh. The midfielder took aim, only to see his effort saved before the effort on the rebound from Glen Taylor was deflected wide by a defender.
However, Shields took the lead in the 16th minute. A cross into the area from Oli Bainbridge found Scott unmarked inside the six-yard area and the striker did well to navigate a header into the back of the net and put his side in front.
It took just five minutes for him to double up. After some good play inside the Moors penalty area, the ball fell to Scott, who spun to dispatch a tidy finish into the bottom left corner of the net past Brad James.
Scott completed his hat-trick with eight minutes of the first half remaining. Shields mugged the ball from Pugh, before driving into the area through Blackett, who went on to play the ball across to Scott. The frontman made no mistake and tucked home his third of the afternoon.
Moors had a chance just seconds after the restart when goalkeeper, Tom Watson, sent a poor clearance into the path of Rob Ramshaw inside the area. The number 10 controlled the ball and played it square to Glen Taylor, who took aim, only for Watson to recover well and prevent the strike from finding the net.
Ian Watson’s men grabbed their fourth of the game just after the hour mark. Moors failed to fully clear the ball, as it landed at the feet of Alcock on the edge of the area. He smashed a powerful low effort on goal, which found the bottom right corner to put the game truly to bed.
The fifth came just four minutes later, this time through Dodds. Blackett broke into the area on the right-hand side, before letting fly. His initial effort was blocked but then bounced right back into his path. The former Moors man tried his luck again, only this time he saw his effort hit the foot of Dodds on the line and ricochet into the net.
Blackett finally got in on the act himself deep into stoppage time. The prolific front man got on the end of a long ball forward, before taking it down with an excellent first touch and burying it past James with his second.
Full Time: South Shields 6 Moors 0
South Shields: Watson, Sykes, Tinkler, Mann, Bainbridge, Dodds, Jenkins, Alcock, McGurk, Scott, Blackett.
Subs not used: Blaney, Sloan.
Booked: Jenkins (42).
Moors: James, Dyson, Rowe, Beals, Hill (Jones 56), Hancox (Robson 59), Pugh (Dolan 75), Heaney, Ramshaw (Salkeld 75), McKeown (Mondal 75), Taylor.
Subs not used: Barron, Pollock.
Booked: Rowe (72).
Referee: Richard Holmes
Written by Noah Betts