Display undermined by missed chances

BRACKLEY TOWN ...................... 1 SOUTHPORT ................................ 0

SOUTHPORT were left to rue a host of missed chances as they fell to a narrow defeat at Brackley Town on Saturday.

Boss Liam Watson insisted his side would win ‘quite a lot of games’ in the run-in if they replicated the performance – providing they started taking their opportunities.

“We just have to carry on playing like that - if we do, we’ll win quite a lot of games between now and the end of the season,” he said. “The attitude, the application was there, you could see the lads were devastated at the end, we didn’t deserve to lose because we’d been the better team.

“But we’ve come away from home and missed three or four glorious chances in the first half. That’s the run we’re on we’re missing chances, not scoring goals and then concede. We’re not getting carved open, it’s individual errors, but to be fair to the backline they have to have the pressure taken off them by converting one of those chances. A one-on-one we miscontrol it, a header two yards out we guide it wide, at the end we managed to clear one off their line for them!

“That’s how it is at the minute and I just have to try to keep the players lifted and keep them focused.”

The visitors had the better of the first half with Connor

Woods going close in the second minute. Niall Watson was finding plenty of space down the left hand side and causing the home defence a few problems while Michael Carberry hit a long range effort narrowly wide in the 16th minute and Chris Doyle headed on to the post from a corner in the 18th minute.

Both ‘keepers were having a quiet afternoon but it was home stopper Daniel Lewis who had to claw the ball away from his goal to prevent an own goal in the 40th minute which was the best chance of the half for the visitors.

Brackley offered very little in the first half getting caught offside on a regular basis and Tony McMillan was virtually redundant in the Southport goal.

Unfortunately it was Brackley who got the only goal of the game in the 68th minute,

Cosmas Matwasa robbing Michael Carberry and teeing up Sam Smart to slot home.

McMillan could have been sent off for a foul outside the box on Theo Robinson which the referee deemed a yellow much to everyone’s relief.

Port’s best chance came in the 84th minute when substitute Josh Miles crossed and Niall Watson just failed to connect.

SOUTHPORT: McMillan, Quansah, Carberry, C Doyle, Anson, Oliver, Woods (Miles 70), Bainbridge, Walton, Watson, Heath. Subs: Goudie, J Doyle, Munro, Hmami.

BRACKLEY: Lewis, Cullinane-Liburd, Walker, Bates, Calder, Dean, Matwasa, Woods, Rooney, Murombedzi, Stead. Subs: Robinson, Amantchi,

Armson, Richards, Smart. REFEREE: Niall Smith ATTENDANCE: 663