Match report from www.southportfc.net

For all the flair Southport have shown in recent weeks, this was a night when everything fell flat.

Having arrived at the Merseyrail Community Stadium looking to register a sixth straight home win for the first time since leaving the Football League, the Sandgrounders ended the match wondering where it had gone so wrong.

A potentially record-breaking night turned into a truly forgettable one for John Coleman’s team, as their fine home form was brought to a juddering halt at the hands of Braintree Town.

Having taken the lead as early as the sixth-minute, Braintree scored three times in the second half to consign Southport to their heaviest home defeat of the campaign. And to compound the Sandgrounders’ misery, Luke George was sent off for dissent in the aftermath of the visitors’ third goal.

There has been a real style and spirit about Southport’s recent home matches, but here it deserted them. Coleman’s side were subdued from the start and they just never got going.

Midway through the first half and trailing 1-0, Yamen Osawe almost equalised as he tried to arch the ball spectacularly into the top right-hand corner from 20 yards, only to find goalkeeper Nick Hamann equal to the task.

It was a chance that represented a rare moment of quality in an otherwise laboured display from the home side and ended up being their one meaningful effort at goal.

Braintree were a robust, well-organised side who ensured Southport were never given the chance to find their stride. A fiercely committed performance from the visitors was typified by defender Dean Wells, who won almost everything as the Sandgrounders failed to make any inroads into opposition territory.

For Southport, the absence of captain Scott Brown, so often the driving force but unavailable due to an ankle injury, was sorely felt.

Fast starts have been a feature of the Sandgrounders’ recent home form, but this time it was Braintree who struck early and the home team quickly lost their way.

The sloppiness of the goals conceded was typical of the Sandgrounders’ performance, Sean Marks opening the scoring as he emerged from a goalmouth scramble to nudge the ball home after Southport had failed to deal with a Dan Sparkes corner.

Braintree could easily have increased their lead before half-time, Dan Holman nodding the ball over with the goal gaping before Marks hit a post with goalkeeper Danny Hurst off his line.

It was a match of few goalscoring chances, but Braintree took theirs when they came along.

Seven minutes after half-time, Holman converted a cross from Chez Isaac to capitalise on more slipshod defending, before James Mulley knocked in Sparkes’ hanging centre just after the hour. Believing there had been a foul in the process, George was shown a second yellow card for his protests.

Holman added a fourth with 12 minutes remaining, scoring with a fine shot after substitute Josh Laurent had emphasised the difference between the teams by charging through the centre of the pitch before providing the lay-off.

Braintree’s fixture backlog is such that this was their ninth game played in the space of three weeks. It is a result that leaves them on the brink of a play-off place, and finishing in the top five would be a remarkable achievement should they manage it.

Before leaving the pitch, the entire Braintree squad and coaching staff went to shake hands will all nine of the travelling supporters who had made the gruelling midweek trip up from Essex.

The visitors were left with the prospect of a mammoth journey home, but for Southport, it had already been a long, long night.

Report by Alan Jones