Davies’ delight with Port
ALMOST 1,000 fans turned out to watch Kevin Davies’ Southport record their sixth win in eight games as they came from behind to beat Curzon Ashton 3-1 at Haig Avenue on Saturday.
Goals from Jason Gilchrist and Elliot Osborne - plus a comedic Danny Shaw own-goal from 35-yards compounded Curzon’s misery, but the former Bolton and England forward spoke of his delight as Southport continued their fine run of form.
“It was a good result for us. Going a goal behind shows how strong the group is and the belief they have in themselves.
“When we’re getting goals, you can see the confidence, and you can see the growth in the team as they look to kill the game off. There’s a lot of positives to take from it.”
Davies also addressed the changes he’s made to the playing staff since his arrival, noting how the “quality” in Southport’s side helped turn the game on its head.
“We’ve been playing some good football over the last few games. We’re always going to create chances with the quality of players we have in there now.
“Players start to grow into the game. When we get the goals it seems to give us a real lift. It was a bit more gritty against a big team but it’s a big win in terms of where we want to be in the table and the confidence coming through the team.”
Southport are now middle of the table in more than just the usual sense - the Sandgrounders are now seven points above the relegation zone.
On Saturday they travel to Blyth Spartans who are fourth in National League North.
FIFTH division leaders Churchtown IV certainly put themselves in control at the top, as they dominated Tarleton IV in a battle of the top two in week 15 of the ‘Master Lock & Safe’ Southport and District Badminton League.
A near perfect performance from captain Nick Evans and his team against their promotion rivals, now puts them in control of their own destiny.
After taking an early 3-1 lead after the mixed doubles, it looked as if Tarleton would begin a comeback in the men’s doubles.
But after losing the opening set 21-16, Churchtown’s Phil Clegg and Tom Schofield prevailed in the next two sets 21-17, 21-12.
That result seemed to lose any kind of momentum Tarleton had, and Churchtown ended up pulling away to a strong victory.
In other fifth division news, Woodvale VI mounted the pressure on Tarleton IV in the race for the second promotion spot.
Their 7-1 win at relegation threatened Southport VI now puts them level on points with their nearest rivals.
Sadly for St. Cuthberts III, they missed their chance of moving into second place, as they fell 6-2 to a Hesketh Bank II side that still have a fighter’s chance of snatching promotion.
As for Mawdesley V, they may be sixth, but their 7-1 win over Burscough Pioneers III still keeps slim hopes alive of a surprise second place finish.
It might not have been a complete win, but a winning draw for Formby Methodist over bottom side Southport VII may have been enough to almost seal another year in division five.
Nothing could separate the sides for the entirety of the encounter.
This result now extends Formby Methodist’s gap from Southport’s sixth team to four points.
With two games in hand for Formby, two Southport sides getting relegated from the same division is close to becoming a reality.
Drama in the sixth division looks to have been heightened, as Southsands V pulled a very helpful 5-3 win against Hesketh Bank III to give them hopes of avoiding the drop to the league’s bottom division.
Meanwhile at the top, a 7-1 win for leaders Woodvale VII against bottom side West End Park IV means only one more point is required to not only confirm promotion, but the sixth division title.
Elsewhere, the hopes of promotion have been somewhat dented for Churchtown V.
Their losing draw against Southsands IV puts second place side Ormskirk IV firmly in the driving seat.
Survival looks to be acquired for Southport VIII, after their strong and solid 6-2 away win at a Woodvale VIII that are still not completely out of danger just yet.
Despite being seventh in the first division, Woodvale II managed to become the only team to avoid losing to leaders Mawdesley this season.
They matched their losing draw in the reverse fixture, and also managed to confirm safety in the league’s top division for another year.
The mixed doubles saw every match go to a deciding set and the matches were eventually split.
Woodvale caused concern from their opponents after securing both of the men’s doubles.
However, Mawdesley quickly answered by comfortably taking both of the women’s doubles.
All but confirmed safe for another season are Churchtown II.
Their 7-1 win over already relegated Southport II, means either one point from their three remaining matches and one more defeat from Burscough Pioneers will settle which two sides will be leaving the top flight.
Southsands II has just everybody on watch in division three, as the relegation threatened side secured a surprise winning draw over third place side Ormskirk II.
Despite not having their best team out, Southsands matched their opponents throughout their encounter and collected their extra point by winning more sets over the evening’s proceedings.
With that result in mind, all the other teams that looked to be home and dry for another season in the third division, are now keeping an eagle eye on all the other results.
Elsewhere, Burscough Pioneers’ second team brought St. Cuthberts back into the relegation mix after edging out victors 5-3.
Since the Christmas break, Woodvale IV have gone unbeaten.
That streak was extended, after they collected their sixth winning draw of the season against Churchtown III.
The race to join leaders Mawdesley IV in promotion from the fifth division continues as both Crosby and Tarleton III add a further three points to their respective tallies.
Crosby carry on their strong second half of the season, after a 6-2 win at a Southsands III side, who are still looking over their shoulder in case they get pulled into a relegation scrap.
Matching their score-line was third place side Tarleton III, as they defeated West End Park’s third team.
Despite over half of the matches being decided in three sets, the higher-ranked side held their nerve to remain one point behind their fellow promotion rivals. That loss makes it more of an uphill struggle for West End Park, as they remain in the second relegation spot. One win from their remaining four matches will be enough.
On the bubble of relegation are Formby II. They suffered the toughest of 5-3 losses to mid-table side St. Cuthberts II. A 25-23 final set win for St. Cuthberts’ Tracey Pattison and Sue Tinsley over Formby’s Victoria Wolfe and Christine Thomas decide the match in dramatic fashion.
Chances of promotion look to be over Woodvale V, as they could only muster a winning draw over bottom side Southport V.
It was fortunate week for the league’s bottom side St. Cuthberts V, as they recorded their first points of the season with a winning draw over nearest rivals Southsands VI.
With Southsands coming into the match two ladies short, St. Cuthberts went into the match with a 4-0 head start.
Despite a couple of tight affairs, Southsands battled well to claw back the deficit and end the match 4-4. However, a crucial three-set loss earlier in the match was the key in securing the bottom side a winning draw.
It was all too easy for division two’s top four sides, as they all completed easy wins over their respective counterparts. Leaders Victoria Hall II avoided any sort of an upset as they white-washed Mawdesley’s third team 8-0 in this top versus bottom encounter.
That result makes it thirteen matches unbeaten for the season.
For second place side Southsands, one more win should be enough to secure promotion.
Their 7-1 win at Formby maintains their six point advantage over Tarleton, who matched their result against midtable side Woodvale III.
Mawdesley II completed the wins for the top four sides.
However, their 7-1 victory over strugglers West End Park II changes very little as a fourth place finish looks to be all but sealed for them.
For more info, be sure to check out the league’s official website, www.southportbadminton.com as well as the latest news, results and league tables. Also, make sure you like the league’s official Facebook page.