Southport progress through to the next round of the Setanta Shield after a convincing 4-1 victory at Bower Fold.

Southport opened the scoring with the first real chance of the game, as McGinn played the ball forward to Tony Gray, who knocked the ball into the path of Steve Daly, who slotted the ball home with his second touch, giving Port a fourth minute lead.

The Southport defence seemed settled, with the only sign of danger falling as Matty Barlow tried to surge through the back line, but Tony McMillan was equal to the danger, quickly getting off his line to pounce on the ball. Ten minutes later Nicky Platt got the ball through to Michael O’Connor, but his chance was parried clear by the Southport keeper.

But it was Southport who doubled their lead on the half hour, as Robbie Booth surged down the right wing into the box, and chipped the ball over the advancing keeper into the net. A minute later, Southport should have made it three as Steve Daly tried to run the ball into the net, but Phillips did enough to put him off, as the ball ended up in the side-netting.

Stalybridge pulled a goal back a few minutes before the break as Danny Wood got the ball over from the right wing into Andy Smart, who blasted the ball home from close range. They should have equalised a minute later as Terry Barwick poked the ball through a crowd of players, only for Tony McMillan to watch the ball hit the post, rolling kindly back across the line for him to pick up a clear the danger.

Southport had a good chance to regain their two goal advantage early in the second half as Tony Gray got the ball to Chris Price on the edge of the box, who played a searching ball into the area for Steve Daly to pounce onto, but was denied by Phillips who cut out the danger at the last minute.

Southport sealed their victory with a two minute spell in the last ten minutes, as Neil Robinson confidently pushed forward under pressure from Paul Sykes, but the Southport striker kept his composure, firing from the edge of the box, with the ball going beyond the straded Phillips. The Celtic keeper gifted Southport’s fourth a few moments later as Tony Gray slid low for the ball on the edge of the box, with Phillips mis-reading the danger, allowing Gray to get up and slot the ball into the empty net.