Evans shows front men how it’s done

The Non-League Football Paper

By James Houghton

A CONTENTIOUS penalty resulted in the only difference between the two sides. The only goal came just after half-time by Southport after Brad Holmes won the hosts a spotkick, resulting in Declan Evans calmly slotting home his effort in front of the travelling support. The early stages were a close contest, albeit with neither side managing any clear chances. South Shields’ Paul Blackett was found in-behind the hosts’ back line on multiple occasions, albeit only seeing his efforts fail to trouble Chris Renshaw. The second half commenced with Jack Doyle managing to keep the sides level with a clever goal line clearance from a well-hit strike by Mackenzie Heaney. Holmes then went up the other end and won the hosts an excellent chance to open the scoring from 12 yards. Centre-half Evans stepped up for the penalty, sending Myles Boney the wrong way. Successive chances saw Jed Abbey become heavily involved – seeing his free-kick being followed by an inviting ball that just brushed past Blackett’s feet. Tempers flared in the closing stages, but the Yellows saw off the title-chasing visitors as their poor form on the road continued.