John Doolan accused the Southport players of taking their feet off the pedal as they gave up a 2-0 lead. They allowed Redditch into the game to claim all three points as Port slipped from top in the Conference North.

Three points seemed to be assured for the Sandgrounders as they appeared to turn the screw on their opponents in a first half they seemed to be dominating.

Neil Robinson got the ball into the net just after the quarter-hour mark when Mark Duffy’s corner kick went through a crowd of players, but the Port striker was judged to have pushed Matty Clarke as he tried to get to the ball.

However, Port only had to wait a matter of minutes until their pressure was finally rewarded as Duffy put in a dangerous cross from the right wing which was prodded on by Ciaran Kilheeney for Michael Powell to tap in from close range.

The wind assisted Duffy in securing the second goal as his free-kick deep on the left wing caught a gust in mid-air, sending the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net.

Despite one more decent effort from Robinson, who turned on the edge of the box to seeg his shot just skim wide, Port then pressed the self-destruct button just before the interval.

A long ball from midfield into the Port box caught Tony McMillan off his line, and with the wind playing a hand, Danny Edwards latched on to the loose ball, knocking it beyond the stranded keeper.

Lifted by that goal, the Midlands side were on level terms early in the second half as another long ball into the box landed for Mark Rawle whose powerful header was too much for McMillan.

The Sandgrounders were offered a glorious chance to reclaim the lead as Robinson played the ball through to Duffy who was caught from behind in the Redditch box, with his team awarded a penalty.

Kilheeney slammed the spot-kick against the right-hand post, denying Port a chance to get back in front.

Alan Moogan forced a good save from Danny Lewis with 20 minutes remaining, but the sucker punch came with 10 minutes to go as a Redditch corner went through to the back post for Lee Ayres to head home.