Notts gutted by Pickford’s removal

As reported by Mark Ogden in The Guardian on Monday November 18, 2002

Steve Pickford should have been laying carpets in Manchester on Saturday but, to Notts County’s cost, he ducked out of his weekend shift to inspire Southport to a famous Cup upset against the struggling Second Division club. Pickford, by his own admission a non-league journeyman midfielder, offered a glimpse of the quality that lies beneath the surface in the Nationwide Conference with a stunning solo performance to rescue the Sandgrounders after County had marched into a 2-0 lead.
Although Darren Caskey was sent off in the 37th minute, Danny Allsopp scored for the visitors before and after that. Having been relegated from the Football League by one vote in the old re-election system 24 years ago, Southport’s hopes of retaliating against the league’s oldest club looked pretty slim.
But Pickford justified his rare day off and took advantage of his team’s extra man to drag them back into the game with a close-range strike on 43 minutes and a delightful lob on the hour.
“I was supposed to work this morning but I managed to persuade a couple of my mates to cover for me because it was an early kick-off and I wanted everything to be right,” he said. “It’s a good job I did because it turned out to be the best day of my career. I didn’t have much time to celebrate, though, because I will be back to work tomorrow [Sunday] morning.”
With Pickford erasing County’s early lead, the visitors crumbled as Southport sensed blood and they gained the victory they deserved thanks to late goals from the substitute Peter Thomson and full-back Chris Lane. Southport are the highest placed part-time club in the Conference and lie only four points behind the leaders Yeovil. A return to the Football League is an achievable target this season and their manager Phil Wilson claims that they are ready to reclaim their place at the top table.
“We are still part-time, but we have beaten a Second Division club and that says it all about what we can achieve,” he said. “But a place in the third round is now our immediate aim because that would be like winning the Cup for this club.”
Wilson’s party was Billy Dearden’s wake. “It isn’t just the worst result of my time at Notts County,” the manager said. “It’s the worst of my career.”