What we had in spirit just could not be matched

EARL Davis says the two goals he scored in Southport’s memorable 5-0 win over Fleetwood Town are still regarded among the highlights of his career.

Seven years after the clubs faced off in a hotlyfought Conference North title race, the Sandgrounders meet Fleetwood again next Monday in a keenly-anticipated Emirates FA Cup first round tie.

Southport’s thrashing of their local rivals on Boxing Day 2009 was a key result in shaping the outcome of that championship race and it remains one of their most notable results in recent times.

Davis will be back at the Merseyrail Community Stadium next week to cheer on his old club, and with the Sandgrounders going in search of a cup upset against their opponents from SkyBet League One, the former central defender is looking for one of the current players to make their mark on the fixture just as he did.

“It was a very special day and getting a result like that against our closest rivals was massive,” said Davis.

“Both of my goals were headers. The first came from a long throw-in and then I finished the scoring to cap a superb day.

“It had snowed heavily and I remember that it looked pretty much certain that the game would be called off. It took a huge effort from the fans to clear the snow off the pitch on the day of the game which we all appreciated.

“It was a good day all round and when you look back at that result it is brilliant.

Southport clinched the title on the final day of the 2009/10 season, edging out Fleetwood by a single point as a tense title race reached a thrilling conclusion.

“Towards the end of the season, it became super tight,” said Davis, who also scored the winning goal against Fleetwood in August 2010.

“There was a real rivalry between the clubs, especially with the two teams being local, and it made winning the title even better.”

“I remember saying to the lads that we needed to focus on ourselves because what we had in terms of spirit couldn’t be matched and I stand by that. The team spirit that Liam Watson had in the changing room was unbelievable and we were confident that there was only going to be one outcome.”

Davis’ interview features in a special edition of the club’s matchday programme which is on sale against Fleetwood next Monday.

The match is the first meeting between the teams since January 2012, when a Fleetwood team inspired by Jamie Vardy won convincingly en route to securing the Conference title.

Since then Fleetwood have earned a further promotion and they currently sit tenth in League One under the management of Uwe Rosler, the former Manchester City striker.

Rosler saw the Sandgrounders win 2-0 against York City last week - part of a sequence which has seen Steve Burr’s improving team go four