After a heavy 4-0 defeat to table toppers Chorley in midweek, Liam Watson will be hoping his side can get their first points of the season as they travel to Nuneaton.



Four games, no points and only one goal has left the pressure rising on the Sandgrounders. It’s certainly not the start the manager would’ve envisioned on his return to the club.

The more games that pass, the more desperate the need of points become, as Southport remain the only club in the division not to have a point, a stat no club wants.

Watson’s words after the Chorley defeat were brutally honest, demanding more from his players, showing his dissatisfaction with what he had seen.

The chance to amend things comes on Saturday (3pm KO) when Southport travel to Liberty Way, where they take on Nuneaton Borough.

Saturday’s Hosts
The Boro have had a far from perfect start to the season themselves, sitting two places above Southport in 20th with only two points.

They kicked off their campaign with back-to-back 0-0 draws against newly promoted sides Ashton United and Hereford.

They suffered defeat in their third game when they came up against in-form Chorley, Marcus Carver’s goal being the difference between the two sides.

Manager Nicky Eaden, saw his side lose again on Tuesday night as they took on Boston United.

A goal from Nathan Arnold just before half time, and a second by Jonathan Wafula secured a 2-1 win for the Pilgrims, with Ebo Andoh’s 83rd minute strike being a consolation.

With only one goal in four games, Nuneaton share Southport’s struggles in putting the ball in the back of the net.

The club will be hoping someone will be able to step up and fill the gap of the departed Ashley Chambers who scored 19 times in the league last season.

Season Prep’
These results follow a similar pattern to their pre-season, where they suffered three defeats, two draws and only one win, which came in a 3-1 victory over Kettering Town, with second half goals from Mitchell, Panayiotou and Jones helping them come from behind.

Boro Bosses
Ex-Coventry and Rotherham coach, Eaden was appointed as Nuneaton boss after the sacking of Gary Charles at the beginning of summer, who was only given the job in March himself.

Under Charles, The Boro were successful when they took on the Port at the Merseyrail Community Stadium in April, coming out 1-0 winners.

This completed the double over Southport after winning 3-0 at Liberty Way earlier on in the season.

That victory came under former Southport manager and striker, Dino Maamria, who would later leave the club to join League Two Stevenage.

By the time of Maamria’s departure Nuneaton weren’t far off the play-off spots,. Eaton will be hoping to inspire that sort of form heading forward into the season, with Saturday’s game a good place to start.

The lads in Old Gold will also see the match as an excellent time to kick-start their season, with the expectations being a lot higher than what is currently on display.

Both sides will be desperate to gain first victories as five games without a win will certainly bring more tough questions.

Ticketing & Travel
The admission for the game is TBC by our hosts.

Written by Amos Wynn