Southport manager Liam Watson has insisted that they must take nothing for granted ahead of their trip to Peterborough Sports.
The Yellows returned to winning ways thanks to Jordan Archer’s brace to beat Curzon Ashton. Their triumph moved them to within touching distance of the playoffs after their recent spell of draws saw them slip away.
Their encounter with the Nash ended on a sour note after a late red card for the visitors left Port with a sour taste.
The visitors were awarded a penalty after it was adjudged that Adam Anson had handled the ball, as a result Adam Lakelands side halved the deficit.
Watson was pleased to send the home supporters away happuy as they continued their unbeaten run. He told Off The Park: “Really good first-half, comfortable, game ended up becoming a carnival because of the officials but we got through, it was a good win, deserved win and keeps the unbeaten run going.
“The performance was good, the referee gave them a bit of a lift and then the game became a bit chaotic but I think we were more likely to score than them but apart from that was all good.
“If you look at him now he’s well in 10 or 11 already this season, I think they’re all virtually in the league so if he ends up with 20 league goals he’s done remarkably well,” he added on Archer’s return to the scoresheet.
“Obviously we slightly changed the shape but we changed the personnel as well because they all need to be playing and I think the fact we’ve had a game helps because it blows the cobwebs off.”
During the game, Watson handed 17-year-old Josh Miles his debut for Southport. The attacker proved to be a threat for the hosts and had appeals for a penalty turned away late on.
The Port manager lauded the youngsters introduction and admitted it won’t be his last involvement this season.
Watson confirmed that Tyler Walton – who has been absent in recent weeks – will be missing. He said: “He was brilliant, I knew he would do [well], he’s a confident kid anyway. He has really good ability, people might think it’s a shock – particularly the time he came on in the game, it was tight – but he gave us a lift going forward which was the good thing.
“At the moment, he’ll get football anyway because Tyler Walton is going to be out for a couple of weeks, Niall should be in and around it but you can’t have enough good players, especially wide players.”
In the build-up to January, it emerged that Southport had accepted a bid for one of their players. Off The Park understands the offer came aboard but with the transfer window not open for the club eyeing the deal, negotiations were on hold.
Watson revealed that the player has since spoken to the club but that deal remains the only one on the table so far.
He said: “The only one we’ve said, I don’t know where it’s up to, Terry’s dealing with it. God knows, I’ve left it to him, I think there’s a little bit of toing and froing but I know the player has spoken to the club, I’ve tried staying out of it, it’s best for Terry [to deal with it] because he knows the person in charge there.”
Southport face Peterborough Sports this weekend as they look to get one over on their opponents. The two sides met earlier in the season as the newly promoted side ran out 3-0 winners in the reverse fixture.
Watson raised concerns over taking their opponents for granted and has called on his players to turn up in a positive way.
“They battered us on the day, well deserved the 3-0 win but we weren’t great, had a poor day and we have to make sure we turn up and have a good day,” the Port manager continued.
“Anyone in this league if you underestimate or take for granted you get rolled over. We have to make sure we turn up in a positive way and want to carry this run on. The big thing is we’re halfway through the league campaign and if we replicate the first-half in the second-half, we know we’ll be in the playoffs.
“I’m made up [to be where we are], we had a spell of five or six weeks where we were decimated and picked up hardly any points so to pick ourselves back up to that level is good.
“The minute you start thinking you’ve arrived is the problem when it comes and hits you in the face, we have to make sure the main focus with the players is keep on getting game time and minutes so as the season gets deeper, they’re all match fit.
“I think a lot of the time, playing away from home suits us. We do like to counter-attack, if we can keep it tight, we know we’ve got a goal in us.”
