Brackley Deliver Southport Win To a Growing Crowd.

Southport in blue never really looked like scoring despite all the pressure.

Brackley Supporters normal hijack of the away end first half

Sixteenth in the league, today’s visitors at St James Park had the potential to be easy prey for third-placed and promotion chasers Brackley Town FC. The first ten minutes for Brackley were quite tame for a promotion-chasing side, with no real zeal or sense of urgency being displayed, quite common in the end-of-season matches displayed by Brackley to date.

The first decent opportunity came in the 11th minute with a run in down the left wing and a dangerous shot on goal, saved by the Southport goalkeeper forcing a corner. The corner was disappointingly not capitalised on. However by the start of the second quarter there was a definite step up in pressure as Brackley dominated more play in the Southport area and were awarded a second corner which went the same way as the first. Some good tackling and theft of the ball from Southport defenders opened up more opportunities and in the 18th min came a third corner which this time went in off the head of Connor Hall.

One nil down, Southport tried to counter and create more chances up front. In the 23rd minute, they were awarded two long free kicks which led to Southport's first decent shot on goal which went just over the Brackley cross bar. At the start of the final quarter of the first half, the match turned into a slogging match as to who would dominate play. Brackley got another corner which easily went into the hands of the goal keeper. This was quickly followed by another Southport attack into the Brackley half in the 30th min. Another Brackley corner came in the 32nd but nothing came of it. The match continued to switch from end to end and Brackley were given a yellow card for a foul in the start kick area in the 42nd min as the struggle boiled over into frustration.

However despite wanting to get back into the match, Southport displayed their lower league position form and rarely looked like scoring despite their step up in play after going a goal down. As the whistle went for half time, all Southport could hope for as they went in for the break was that they would produce more threatening shots on goal in the second half.

Half time seemed to cool things down as the first quarter of the second half was far less contested as it was at the end of the first half. It seemed as if Southport had lost zeal to equalise and Brackley to try and extend their lead. The more vocal Brackley fans who had changed ends stepped up the volume to help while a Southport drummer countered by banging a stronger beat on his drum from behind the Southport goal. In the 56th min, Southport declared war by getting a close shot on goal. Brackley counted by earning a corner in the 59th which was met with a roar of approval from the home fans behind the Brackley goal. With nothing earnt, came the start of Brackley substitutions to try and step up more pressure in the 62nd and 69th min. A scramble in the Southport goalmouth nearly led to a second goal which everyone was looking for. In the 74th , Southport put on two substitutions of their own with the hope they could keep up their fight to get back into the match. By the final quarter of the match there was a bit of a lull. The Southport fans stepped up their yellows chant along with their drummer to try and boost morale. It seemed to work, as they were awarded a corner which was easily saved by a high jump from the Brackley goalie in the 79th minute. In the final 10 mins of the match, Southport continued to try and create opportunities but it was never enough as like the first half they never really looked like scoring to give Brackley the promotion chance win, everyone wanted delivered. A higher 759 attendance demonstrates the increase in excitement and interest as the Brackley wins keep coming and the chance of promotion and chase on league leaders, Chester, and gap narrows..