Southport manager Liam Watson was pleased to see his side show their character against Bradford Park Avenue after stumbling against Solihull Moors.
The Sandgrounders bowed out of the FA Trophy as the National League side cruised into the next round winning 3-0.
Southport dominated in their National League North clash but needed a last-gasp winner from Jordan Archer to seal the three points to keep their winning run on track.
“They [Solihull Moors] deserved to [win], no complaints on the day. Wish them luck in the next round,” he told Off The Park.
“I think we showed quite a bit of inexperience against a very experienced side which is part of the learning curve, it helps me as a manager pointing out where they need to improve and they all accepted it, it’s up to them to improve and go again.
“It’ll be a good gauge to bring people back down to earth when you think we’re winning, keep winning. So that’s why Tuesday became really, really important to show character and bounce back.
“We should’ve been winning in the first half missed two or three chances, they’re full of experience, a load of know-how and they made it difficult for us. They defended the box well, I thought we did play well but we kept on going and won it at the death.
“It comes hand in hand, if they’re all onside and in it together in the dressing room, what you’ll find out is they take it out on the pitch. When I went in whether they were subs, injured, whatever they celebrated and all in together. I’ve been in good changing rooms and I’ve been in one or two bad ones as well, you know the difference.”
During the midweek win, Watson offered Tyler Walton a debut after signing on loan from Farsley Celtic and expressed his delight with the midfielder.
He added: “At the moment, it’s just an opportunity for him. It’s nothing committal from either side, there’s a chance for them to get involved in the 16, train with us and see where he is, probably gives him an opportunity to give him a bit of direction in his career and get playing again.
“Very good, everything I thought he was, he shown on Tuesday night. I was made up with him.
“If you look at Gloucester, they’re a very very experienced side. They’ve got a lot of knowhow there, I wouldn’t say they’ve got bags of legs. But they play on a 4G so that’s a huge advantage to them, if they’re playing on it week in, week out but we’ve just got to play our own game.”
[Featured image: Julia Urwin – Southport FC]
