MATCH PREVIEW | Tonight – Southport v Macclesfield Town

MATCH PREVIEW | Tonight- Southport v Macclesfield Town At Merseyrail Community Stadium

Tonight (Tuesday) Southport take on Wembley bound Buildbase FA Trophy finalists Macclesfield Town. Kick off is 7:45pm. The Silkmen are secure in 9th place in the Vanarama National League with an impressive 10 away victories including last Saturday’s 4-2 win at Boreham Wood.

With every week that goes by and with every point dropped, it looks increasingly like Southport need a miracle if they are to pull off a great escape.

Any hope that remained following victory against Boreham Wood was extinguished by the disastrous seven days that followed, during which fellow strugglers picked up crucial points and the Sandgrounders lost at home to Guiseley, a match which on paper looked the most winnable of the remaining fixtures.

Southport were the better side in the first half, getting into promising positions and hitting the crossbar through Rory McKeown, but failed to capitalise and disappointed in the second half.

After going behind the Sandgrounders rarely threatened and at the final whistle found themselves ten points from safety with six games remaining – albeit with a game in hand.

It is therefore ironic that at a time when things look bleaker than ever before, Macclesfield come to town with David Fitzpatrick in their ranks. He returns to the Merseyrail Community Stadium as the winner of the Trust in Yellow Goal of the Decade award for his goal that ensured survival in the most dramatic circumstances in 2014.

Even heroics to match Fitzpatrick’s will not be enough this time round it seems. Whilst his return will conjure fond memories, they will certainly be tinged with regret that Southport still find themselves struggling in non-league’s premier division three years later.

By Christy Byrne

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