By Mark Carruthers
Dunston UTS manager Chris Swailes praised his defenders after a solid display laid the foundations for an impressive win against free-scoring Marske United.
The Seasiders created a number of chances throughout the first-half with the likes of top scorer Adam Boyes and midfielder Craig Gott both going close to giving their side a deserved lead at half-time.
Dunston improved after the restart and the introduction of substitutes Jack Elliott and Richard Coulson proved pivotal as the pace and trickery of the duo caused issues for Carl Jarrett’s side.
New signing Michael Fowler marked his debut by opening the scoring with a neat touch just after the midway point of the second-half and substitute Elliott secured the points when he found the net with 10 minutes remaining.
The win ends a run of five straight defeats for Dunston and left Swailes to laud the performance of his defenders after they kept a first clean sheet since mid-October.
He told The NLP: “Marske have come off a defeat against Stockton and we know they are a quality side so we had to be wary of them.
“Their front two are prolific, they have a quality three in midfield and then the two wide lads are very dangerous too.
“They score from all over the pitch and it’s a great scalp for us.
“The fact we kept a clean sheet, I know we can score, but the fact we kept a clean sheet after an impressive performance from our defenders was massive for us.
“We deserved a little bit of luck and we got it and now we have to move on and try to improve over the coming weeks.”
Swailes also praised the performance of new signing Fowler after he put in a promising performance less than 24 hours after joining the club.
The former Sunderland academy forward impressed with a lively display before receiving a fine reception from the UTS Stadium faithful when he was replaced in the closing stage.
“Michael wasn’t the only good player out there for us today but I thought he led the line well,” explained Swailes.
“He’s not the finished article, he is only 20 years old.
“He played a part in us getting a really good result and it’s one we needed because we have been poor in the last few weeks.”
