Suddenly Christmas shopping didn’t seem such a bleak alternative.

Those among the fifty-one travelling Sandgrounders in search of an afternoon free from the predictable, monotonous grind of winter should have known better.

Following Southport is no longer for those of a sensitive disposition and while a visit to the Recreation Ground was never going to resolve any pre-festive blues, one expects there are turkeys with a better sense of self-preservation this Christmas than the men from Haig Avenue.

Such is his side’s tragic plunge, manager Liam Watson stated last week he will be satisfied to see Southport go into the ‘last game of the season’ with their fate still undecided. On April 29, the Sandgrounders will host Aldershot Town and although the crux their support would probably settle for survival by virtue of a perennial technicality, Watson’s men would stand little chance of gaining anything from that match on the evidence of today.

Effective but largely unflattering, less than two months ago Shots were below Southport in the Nationwide Conference standings. A fully functional squad ensures they no longer have to worry about issues underneath them and with four wins from their last five outings, Haig Avenue will sincerely hope the Hampshire side have long since secured a play-off place if any last day scenario does arise.





The side that updated several sections of the history books on their way to a championship-wining charge last term again seem devoted to breaking records. Their current run of six successive league defeats is Southport’s worst since relegation from the Football League in 1978, while the 390 minutes without scoring a goal must surely be threatening some sort of precedent

A return of three red cards in four games will also ensure club records are further checked, while this week’s culprit, defender Chris Brass, waited just twenty-six minutes into his second appearance for the Sandgrounders before being receiving his marching orders. Brass, who was instantly dismissed for deliberately handling Brian Tinnion’s fierce drive on the goal line, will now join the bulging clutch of players to have watched from the stand due to ill discipline.

After witnessing Brass exit early and Adriano Rigoglioso nowhere in sight following his dismal debut two weeks ago, the most impressive performer in a white shirt was Mark Roberts, the youngest of Watson’s three one-month loanees. Just 22-years old, the Crewe centre-half seems to have developed a promising understanding with stalwart Earl Davis and emerged as a formidable feature in what was otherwise a feeble Southport side.

With attacker Carl Baker completing the second instalment of his three match ban, it was of no surprise Southport were again an offensive disaster and while recalled frontman Steve Daly should have done better with the visitors’ solitary shot on seventy-five minutes, the Sandgrounders offered little to convince critics they are not the Conference whipping-boys.

It wasn’t that this latest reversal at the hands of an Aldershot side on a quick march up the table was particularly bad. Performance wise, it could hardly have been worse than combustions at Crawley Town and Accrington Stanley, but the problem is that the players appear to have lost their belief. There now seems to be an irremovable blanket of anxiety that conceals supporters and staff alike, because just as winning became a habit last season, losing matches this campaign has now materialised into an unremitting routine.



Once John Brough’s downward header crashed against the post after good play from Darren Barnard on two minutes, there was only ever going to be one winner. Veteran Brian Tinnion, John Turner and Ashley Vincent all saw efforts miss the target, before the hosts took the lead on twenty-seven minutes. Following a period of patient play, Matthew Somner unleashed a swerving 30-yard drive, which beat goalkeeper Dickinson with lethal ferocity.

And any hopes the Sandgrounders rekindled were relinquished eleven minutes later, as a fizzing effort from Tinnion was scraped off the line by the hand of Brass, allowing Darren Barnard to nonchalantly dispatch the resultant penalty into the bottom right-hand corner once the defender had left their field.

Despite seeing chances from Tinnion and Holloway saved by Dickinson and substitute Steve Watson shoot wide, Aldershot cruised the second period, but were spared a potentially frantic finale, when goalkeeper Nikki Bull produced a superb reflex save to deny Steve Daly’s header. After a provisional period during which the visitors admirably retained possession, a cross from Lane was met by Daly, who should have fared better from six-yards out.

(Alan Jones)





Southport.gb.com Match Facts:

Southport: (4-4-2) 1. Steve Dickinson, 19. Chris Lane, 6. Earl Davis, 25. Mark Roberts, 27. Chris Brass, 3. Jerome Fitzgerald, 10. Dominic Morley (16. Michael Powell ’73), 14. Kevin Lynch, 2. Steve Pickford (20. Matthew McGinn ’79), 8. Neil Robinson (9. Nick Rogan ’70), 11. Steve Daly.
Unused Substitutes: 15. Jamie Speare, 21. Robbie Booth.

Referee: N. Kinseley

Attendance: 2,066

Southport.gb.com Southport Man of the Match: 25. Mark Roberts

Final Score: Aldershot Town 2, Southport 0
Possession: Aldershot Town 55%, Southport 45%
Shots on Target: Aldershot Town 4, Southport 1
Shots off Target: Aldershot Town 5, Southport 0
Corners: Aldershot Town 6, Southport 3
Fouls Committed: Aldershot Town 12, Southport 12
Bookings: Aldershot Town 1, Southport 3
Sent-Off: Aldershot Town 0, Southport 1



* Southport face North West Counties Division One side Squires Gate on Tuesday evening in the second round of the Lancashire Junior Cup, kick-off 7.45pm. A match report will be available on this site on Wednesday afternoon.