WELCOME TO THE HAMPSHIRE BRANCH OF THE SOUTH SHIELDS F.C. SUPPORTERS ASSOCIATION

WHEN WE WERE YOUNG

NEWCASTLE EVENING CHRONICLE - 22 JANUARY 1996

Exiled fan drums up support for the Mariners - in Hampshire

OUR FRIENDS IN THE SOUTH - South Shields fans, from the left,
Dave Rowlings, Mal Barton and Mickey Frampton, show their support.

OUT OF TOON

A tiny Tyneside soccer team boasts a band of loyal fans to rival the Toon Army - Hampshire.

Football minnows South Shields, who play in the Federation Brewery Northern League, have been adopted by a group of supporters 300 miles away in Southampton, home of England star Matt Le Tissier.

Soccer-mad factory workers have formed a local branch of the South Shields F.C. Supporters' Assocciation and can be spotted wandering around the south coast port in the team's colours.

FORTUNES

None of them has ever been to the North East but got the idea from workmate Dave Rowlings, a South Shields fanatic who moved with his wife, Eva, to Southampton from his home town after leaving the army more than 20 years ago.

He continues to support South Shields, nicknamed the Mariners, and gets club programmes and local newspapers - including the Chronicle - sent to Southampton so he can keep track of their fortunes.

Dave, who works at the Fawley Oil Refinery near Southampton, said: 'I used to take them into work to read. Some of the lads got interested in how they were getting on. I decided to form the Hampshire branch of the South Shields Supporters Association.'

The branch has already swelled the Mariners' coffers by several hundred pounds through the sale replica South Shields shirts and by organising a weekly draw and social events.

Dave, 51 (at the time of going to press), secretary of the branch, said: 'They're mainly Saints supporters, though a couple do follow Portsmouth along the coast. I don't suppose they'd die for South Shields, but they're very keen. It's probably something to do with supporting the underdog.'

The branch, which meet at the King Rufus, is now hoping to sponsor a South Shields game and arrange a visit to the Mariners' ground, Filtrona Park, for the Hampshire members.

Wife Eva thinks Dave - who was once carpeted for playing truant from school in Shouth Shields to watch the Mariners beat Crewe Alexandria in the FA Cup - is barmy. And their sons Brian, 31, and Barry, 28, are both Southampton fans.

Dave, also a season ticket holder at the Dell, said: 'The lads at work all expected me to jump on the Newcastle United bandwagon when they became successful. But South Shields is the team for me.'

SHIELDS GAZETTE March 25th 1996

Some of the Hampshire Branch at Filtrona Park

TV defeat is a menace!

What a day to pick to produce one of your most inept displays of this or any other season.

The visiting contingent from the club's Hampshire Supporters Club with their banners and replica shirts were determined to make it a carnival day, led by the man in the Dennis the Menace suit with the drum.

But he was beating out a funeral march long before the end of this sorry showing as Shotton deservedly bagged three vital promotion points.

The TV cameras were also out at Filtrona Park, attracted by the visitors from afar.

And with any luck they will have been focused off the field to prevent sensitive Shields-supporting souls from unnecessary punishment.

Paul Hinton's 10th minute header from a deep free kick just about had the power to cross the line.

And a 33rd minute corner was firmly headed home by the same player to pile on the agony for the off-form Mariners.

At the other end Danny Anderson hit the side netting and Stuart Wright's shot was cleared off the line in rare Shields raids.

Three Shields substitutions failed to improve matters, and seven minutes from time when a corner was only half cleared, Martin McGarry crashed in a 20 yard drive to put matters beyond all doubt.

Paul Shergold's late header was a rare bright spot for Shields, who are next in action on Wednesday at lowly Willington (7:30, meet 6pm for bus).

Three midweek points are now a must, because after two successive defeats, the league table doesn't quite appear so healthy, especially with trips to Morpeth and Easington still to come.

Shields: Morton, Gibson (Whelan 62), Anderson, Watson, Shergold, Atkinson (Middleton 65), Wilson, Oliver, Weightman, Wright, Hallam (Simpson 68).

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WHEN WE WERE YOUNG