Southport 3 v 1 Droylsden

Southport returned to winning ways in style, with two goal, four minutes either side of half time by Steve Daly, and another wonder goal from Kevin Lee, being enough to secure the points.

Following on from recent disappointment, the team appeared more relaxed, with Ashley Winn in strong form as Southport looked more convincing, playing more attractive passing football, rather than the long ball play that has been a frustrating feature in recent times.

Daly’s night nearly started off in fine fashion when Ciaran Kilheeney played a neat pass from the left into the Port striker, only for the shot from the edge of the box to take a slight deflection, forcing the ball narrowly over the cross bar. Kilheeney himself could have given the Sandgrounders the lead as Matty McGinn whipped in an enticing left wing cross, but the final powerful header went straight to Craig Mawson in the Droylsden goal.

The Manchester team created a couple of chances for themselves midway through the first period when Alex Brown cut inside from the right, putting a dangerous ball across the box, only for Kevin Lee to head the ball clear, and Jody Banim’s corner going straight to Jamie McGuire on the edge of the box, but his shot towards the near post skimmed wide. But Southport dominated proceedings, with Kilheeney turning into provider as he played a good cross into Matty McGinn, whose powerful header was palmed away by Mawson. However, Four minutes before the break, Southport’s dominance finally paid off as the instrumental Ashley Winn whipped in a corner into the box where Earl Davis headed the ball into the back post where Steve Daly prodded the ball home from close range.

Four minutes after the break, the Sandgrounders doubled their lead as Winn squared the ball from the right side of the box to Daly who eased the ball home beyond the stranded Mawson. Droylsden pulled a goal back on the hour mark as Jody Banim latched onto a long ball, being given space and time in the middle of the Port box, firing home to put his team back in contention. However, this was short lived as within five minutes Southport had restored their two-goal advantage when Ashley Winn released the ball to Kevin Lee, who surged forward into the box, going beyond three defenders before unleashing a shot which wrong-footed Mawson as it flew into the net. Towards the end, Michael Powell tried his luck from 30 yards, with that chance just skimming wide of the target.

Speaking to the club website after the game, Watson admitted his team benefitted from the pressure being released from them in respect to the title challenge.