Southport stumbled into the third round of the Lancashire
Junior Cup after being pushed all the way by Squires Gate –
a side 84 places below their Conference opponents.
The Sandgrounders, whose only victory during their previous
eight outings was in the last stage the competition against
Nelson, opened the scoring on five minutes. Kevin
Leadbetter’s cross was headed home by Steve Daly, for just
his second goal in seventeen matches.
Despite opportunities for Leadbetter, Rogan and Daly again,
the hosts levelled sixteen minutes later following a rash
piece of goalkeeping. Jamie Speare, making his first start
since September, was fortunate to escape dismissal after
recklessly upending Scott Sugden in the penalty area. Lee
Catlow converted the resultant penalty and almost grabbed a
second shortly after, but for a smart stop from ‘keeper
Speare.
Captain Chris Brass was combative in the centre of midfield,
while Mark Roberts and Michael Powell registered encouraging
performances at the heart of defence for the Conference side
who struggled to cohere against their zealous North West
Counties opponents.
Substitute Neil Robinson and striker Daly again fluffed
opportunities to re-establish the visitors’ advantage; who
were forced to wait until fourteen minutes into extra time
before grabbing a second. After receiving the ball from
Pickford, Kevin Leadbetter drilled home a low shot from the
edge of the area.
But just two minutes after changing ends, Squires Gate
resorted equilibrium, when Speare foiled a shot Wayne
Gardener, only for the striker to covert the subsequent
rebound.
The Sandgrounders were spared the ignominy of a penalty
shoot-out though with six minutes left, when Nick Rogan,
scorer of two against Nelson, converted a loose ball once
Leadbetter’s initial effort had been rebuffed by goalkeeper
Ben Morris.
Southport: (4-4-2) 1. Jamie Speare, 2. Chris Lane, 3.
Matthew McGinn, 4. Mark Roberts, 5. Michael Powell, 6. Chris
Brass, 7. Robbie Booth (14. Steve Pickford), 8. Dominic
Krief, 9. Steve Daly (16. Neil Robinson), 10. Nick Rogan,
11. Kevin Leadbetter
Substitutes: 12. Dominic Morley, 15. Jerome Fitzgerald, 17.
Steve Dickinson
Attendance: 52 – The lowest Southport have ever
played in front of
Southport.gb.com Southport Man of the Match: 6. Chris
Brass
