It was billed as moving day at The Open, when golf’s biggest names looked to stamp their mark on the leaderboard, but 12 miles along the coast from Royal Birkdale, Southport lacked someone to make an impact on their latest pre-season friendly.

Four days after earning a goalless draw against Wigan Athletic, the Sandgrounders played out another stalemate at Marine although, as expected, the match panned out in a very different way for Alan Lewer’s team.

Whereas Southport’s two previous friendlies had been about team shape and maintaining their discipline in matches dominated by opposition from the EFL, this this was a chance to see how the Sandgrounders would fare when looking to force the issue themselves.

The visitors saw plenty of possession, but finding a cutting edge was always going to be the challenge and Lewer acknowledged that his team’s use of the ball will need to improve before their Vanarama National League North season begins against Boston United on August 5.

Southport kept the ball well enough but struggled for intensity or a sustained threat. They created chances, during the first half, in particular, although it was clear that this newly-assembled team remains a work in progress.

The closet Southport came to finding a breakthrough was when Alex Fletcher, the central midfielder who has been among the more impressive performers during the opening four matches of pre-season, took aim from the edge of the area with a curling effort which dipped before clipping the Marine crossbar.

Three chances came the way of Jack Sampson but after failing to find the target, the striker’s afternoon ended in further disappointment when he received a straight red card for what referee Matthew Corlett appeared to deem a headbutt on 64 minutes.

Lewer has spoken regularly about the work his players have carried out on their shape and, in that respect, a second clean sheet will have been encouraging.

Marine’s only real chance came midway through the first half, Matty Hamilton crashing a penalty against the Southport woodwork after Michael Brewster had been tripped in the area.

Having headed wide from Brad Jackson’s left-wing cross in the opening minutes, Sampson could consider himself unlucky not to have broken the deadlock later in the half, connecting with another ball from Jackson, only to be denied by a fine finger-tip save from Marine goalkeeper Ben Barnes.

Trialist Liam Miller partnered Sampson in attack during the first half and he played a well-weighted pass into the path of the former Shrewsbury Town striker, but this time his goal-bound effort was acrobatically cleared off the line by Peter Wylie, the recovering defender.

With both teams making changes in the second half, that was as close as either would come to finding the target as the sun came out at the Marine Travel Arena.

Substitute Ethan Jones twisted and turned inside the area before his shot from a tight angle was blocked by Adam Hughes, meaning Southport’s preparations continue with a second goalless draw.



Southport: Halstead (Turner 46), Dugdale (Trialist 46), C Jones, Kpohomouh, Jackson, Fletcher (Jennings 75), Kissock (Durnin 64), Hynes (Trialist 46), White (Trialist 68), Sampson, Martin (Ethan Jones 56).

Attendance: 331

Referee: Matthew Corlett

By Alan Jones

Wow 331...#BACKTHEBID #