Southport 1 Leamington Spa 0

A solid defensive performance sees Southport hold on for a hard earned 1-0 victory against Leamington to please the majority of the 929 fans in attendance.

Southport started off strongly and after a flurry of chances in the first 15 minutes the break came  in the 16th minute as Walton found himself on the right wing with time to pick out a cross and he fired it straight onto to Watson’s head who couldn’t miss from 5 yards out to make it 3 goals in 2 games for Niall.

After a few half chances to level the game by Leamington it was Southport who had a golden opportunity to double the lead in the 25th minute when Carver broke away from his marker and found himself in behind the Leamington defence with men arriving towards the back post, Carver tried to pick one out but the ball deflected up over the oncoming attackers and trailed out just wide of the far post.

The first half ended with Southport 1-0 up and looking to build on their lead was Carver in the 56th minute after being played in behind on tight angle a 1 on 1 was presented but unfortunately his shot went straight down the keepers throat.

Once again Port had a clear cut chance to double their lead when after winning a 50/50 a 5 on 1 break was on but after 5 shots and a pinball like exchange in the box the attack was ended when Bainbridge couldn’t keep his effort down and it sailed just over the crossbar.

A nervy 6 minutes of added time was well handled and Southport got their first league win after 5 games without one against a very tricky opponent who arrived in fifth place.

The win will give eeveryone a boost ahead if Bradford PA’s visit to Haig Avenue next Saturday at 3pm.

The return of Marcus Carver seemed to give everyone at the club the lift we needed and he got a well deserved ovations before and after the game, no goals but his presence was evident for all to see.