Southport come so close to keeping the dream alive
FOR 93 MINUTES David Raya Martin kept Southport in the Cup with a virtuoso display of shot stopping his compatriot David De Gea would be proud of.
On what might be his final appearance for the Conference club, the 19-year-old on loan from Blackburn Rovers launched himself every which way to thwart Championship high flyers Derby.
‘He was outstanding, just magnificent,’ said Rams manager Steve McClaren, ‘The way he was saving shots and we were missing them I thought the game would only be decided with a penalty.’
Deep into stoppage time, in a rare display of indiscipline, Southport captain Luke Foster brought down Johnny Russell in the box.
Nobody had any complaints when referee Graham Scott awarded a penalty, and substitute Chris Martin duly buried the winner from the spot — with Derby’s 23rd shot on goal.
‘It was a cruel way to lose,’ said Southport manager Gary Brabin, ‘but we’ve left with what we wanted, pride and a lot of new friends from Derby. The whole club is class, their supporters were excellent, their team applauded us off the pitch at the end.’
There was no sign of the magic of the Cup having diminished for the 2,652 who bought Southport’s entire ticket allocation and packed one corner of the iPro stadium.
The away support, including 261 youth players paid to attend by club chairman Charlie Clapham, filled 15 coaches compared to the usual one and headed for the east midlands full of hope for their side’s first third round FA Cup tie since 1999.
The Southport goal was under siege for much of the game but they defended staunchly, every one of their mostly part-time team putting their bodies on the line.
Raya Martin made several showstopper saves, notably denying Craig Bryson, Jamie Ward and Simon Dawkins in the space of a minute. The Spanish keeper is due to return to parent club Blackburn tomorrow.
‘We’d love to sign him,’ said Brabin, ‘but I suspect he might have opened a few eyes.’