Southport made a dream start by scoring two goals in as many minutes putting them in total control. The opening goal came on 8 minutes as Liam Blakeman played a ball from the left wing which was missed by Neil Robinson, only for the ball to roll through to Neil Prince who blasted the ball through a crowd of players into the back of the net. Southport continued the pressure as Blakeman again put Prince through on the left wing, only for Lloyd Rigby to palm the ball away. But from this pressure, Southport’s second goal came as Prince played the ball in for Tony Gray who was easily able to slot the ball home from close range.

The home side rarely were able to break forward, with their first chance falling to Ged Brannan whose free-kick from the edge of the area took a deflection as the ball went wide.

The dominance continued, and Southport should have increased their lead, with Robinson heading wide, Neil Prince forcing a good save from Lloyd Rigby after a one-two with Blakeman, and Chris Lever header going through Rigby’s hand, only for the Lee Owens to clear the ball off the line.

Once again, the chances came for Southport in the second half, with Mark Duffy’s early free-kick going narrowly over. Neil Prince’s corner landed to Kevin Lee, whose headed was blocked by Neil Robinson, and Steve Drench’s free-kick inside the Southport half was headed down well by Robinson to Gray, whose shot was pushed around the post by Rigby.

Vauxhall pulled a goal back on 71 minutes as Paul Taylor’s 20 yard free-kick went around the wall into the bottom right corner of Steve Drench’s goal, which gave the home side the impetus, as Southport rested on their lead.