Port suffer penalty shoot-out heartbreak

May 5 2008 by Staff Copytaker, Liverpool Daily Post

SOUTHPORT missed out on a Blue Square North play-off final chance after a tight tie could only be decided by a cruel penalty shoot-out.

On a heavy pitch Southport found it difficult to play the flowing football they enjoy and Celtic opened the scoring just after the half-hour as Ashley Winn blasted the ball home.

With 15 minutes remaining Steve Payne headed the ball in to make it 2-0 and 2-1 on aggregate following Southport’s first-leg win. But they were then offered a lifeline as Paul Sykes stabbed the ball into his own net.

Both teams could have snatched victory in extra time as Lee Ellington struck the post and at the other end Port’s Tony Gray saw his free-kick go narrowly wide.

But neither team were able to break through and avoid penalties.

All the Stalybridge spot-kicks were struck powerfully leaving Richard Whiteside little chance, with the Southport heartache falling to Liam Blakeman.

He saw his shot saved by Martin Pearson to send his team into the play-off final against Barrow on Friday evening and deny new manager Gary Brabin a quickfire promotion.

STALYBRIDGE CELTIC: Gamble (Pearson 39), Woolliscroft, Smart (Garner 91), Payne, Barwick, Sykes, Torpey, Winn, Hall, Ellington (Barlow 111), Meechan. Subs not used: Burke, Dean.

SOUTHPORT: Drench (Whiteside 46), Lever, Barratt, Hocking (Powell 62), Holland, Duffy (Gray 55), Blakeman, Robinson, James, Prince. Subs not used: Rae, Houghton.

REFEREE: Jez Simpson, Lancaster

ATTENDANCE: 1,735.