Connor Wickham shoots down South Shields as Forest Green forge ahead in FA Cup

Connor Wickham scored twice on his return to the north east as Forest Green came through a severe test by winning 2-0 at Northern Premier League side South Shields in the FA Cup first round.

The opening 25 minutes were all about the Sky Bet League One side as they created the first meaningful chances, with home goalkeeper Myles Boney denying Corey O’Keefe and Regan Hendry sending an overhead kick wide of the far post.

A deserved breakthrough arrived just before the half-hour mark as former Sunderland striker Wickham headed an O’Keefe cross beyond the helpless Boney from around six yards out.

With their seventh-tier hosts struggling to make an impact, Rovers continued to monopolise the opportunities as Hendry curled narrowly wide and Armani Little sent a low drive beyond the far post just seconds before the interval.

Kevin Phillips’ Shields side looked far more lively after the break as they took the game to their visitors, with Dillon Morse and Michael Woods going close with headers within 10 minutes of the restart.

But their best opportunity to at least force a replay came midway through the half when wing-back Blair Adams burst into the left-hand side of the Rovers area only to send a stinging angled drive into the side netting.

Despite enjoying the majority of the second-half possession and going close with a late volley from Tom Broadbent, the hosts suffered a late blow when Wickham doubled his tally with a stunning long-range effort from halfway that sailed over the backtracking keeper and sent his side into Monday’s second-round draw.