South Shields striker Hooper targets promotion after four-goal blast sees off Nantwich

By Mark Carruthers

South Shields striker JJ Hooper reflected on remarkable day after his four goals helped the Mariners overcome a dogged Nantwich Town side at the 1st Cloud Arena.

Despite controlling possession for large parts of the first-half, Kevin Phillips’ side found themselves two goals down at half-time.

Sean Cooke put the Dabbers ahead with a penalty on the quarter-hour mark and a neat finish from Jake Bickerstaff looked to have put the relegation-threatened visitors on their way to an impressive win in the North East.

But Hooper took charge of proceedings in the second-half and got his side back on level-terms with two goals in as many minutes just after the hour-mark.

The former Barnet striker completed his hat-trick with a fine header with six minutes left on the clock and rounded off a remarkable individual display when he netted a fourth goal of the day in the final minute of the game.

Despite his goalscoring heroics, Hooper passed on praise to his team-mates for the part they played in turning the game on its head.

He told The NLP: “It’s always nice to score goals and to score four is fantastic.

“We gave ourselves a bit of a challenge going two goals down but we got there in the end and it’s a big win.

“The first one was a tap-in but I’m not sure I get the other three goals without that one because that got us back in the game.

“I have to thank the boys, Hodgy (Sam Hodgson), Briggs (Robert Briggs) and Lowey (Nathan Lowe) because they gave me the service and I just put them in.”

The four-goal blast takes former Newcastle United academy striker Hooper to the top of the Mariners goalscoring charts and he now has nine goals in his first five appearances for the club.

With his side sat three points clear at the top of the table, Hooper has firmly set his sights on helping South Shields to promotion into the National League North North.

He said: “There’s a great bunch of boys here and they made me feel welcome when I first come in.

“It’s good to be back in the North East, even though it’s a bit cold here.

“I’ve got my family up here and I can’t complain.

“We want promotion, we have to keep our heads down and we have to keep getting the results to get us up there because that is the aim.”