Burscough 2 v 3 Southport

Goals from Steve Daly, Ciaran Kilheeney and Matty McGinn gave Southport three points in their Boxing Day local-derby match against Burscough.

The Linnets made life difficult for Southport and should have taken the lead as Brian Moogan’s low right wing free-kick was allowed to travel through the area where Michael Grogan just failed to connect at the back post. But Southport took the lead ten minutes before the break as Mark Duffy beat the off-side trap before dispatching a high ball over to the back post where Steve Daly arrived to scramble the ball home. Daly had another chance to extend the lead moments before the break as his right wing run into the box resulted in his shot being well stopped by Steve Dickinson.

Burscough continually threatened, with Moogan again just shooting wide of the target minutes into the second half. But most of the goals waited until the final ten minutes. An easy back pass from Tony Evans to Dickinson resulted in the ex-Port keeper mis-clearing the ball to Ciaran Kilheeney, who pounced on the opportunity spreading the ball low under the embarrassed keeper into the back of the net. The drama ensued minutes later when Craig Davies ran into space on the Burscough right wing, before shooting from a tight angle, with the ball hitting the inside of the far post before rebounding into the goal.

Southport restored their two-goal lead with a minute of normal time remaining on the clock as Michael Barnes pushed the ball out to the left, where Matty McGinn ran into the box, slamming the ball home from a tight angle, after taking the ball past Dickinson. The drama wasn’t over yet, as in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Matty Parry set a trap, with Earl Davis being penalised for a challenge in the box, with Moogan blasting the resultant penalty kick down the middle, with McMillan diving to his left.