STRUGGLING Southport will play host to York City tomorrow having lost their last three matches without scoring a goal.

The Sandgrounders were thrashed 5-0 at title-contenders AFC Wimbledon on Saturday and that result followed back-to-back 1-0 home reverses against Wrexham and FA Trophy opponents Gateshead.

As a consequence, Southport boss Liam Watson has taken action this week by recruiting former Accrington Stanley winger Shaun Whalley for a second spell at Haig Avenue.

Whalley also played in the Football League for Chester and has arrived from Hyde United, who he left Droylsden for in the summer.

The skilful 23-year-old is expected to go straight into the hosts’ line up against the Minstermen with left-winger Matty McGinn unlikely to be available after limping out of the action at Wimbledon.

Skipper Alan Moogan, another injury casualty from that match, is also doubtful along with defenders Earl Davis and Adam Flynn, who missed last Saturday’s trip with a strain.

But striker Steve Daly has returned to training and could feature for the fifth-bottom hosts.

Whalley’s signing might not be the end of Watson’s transfer window activity.

A six-figure sum generated from the Sandgrounders’ televised 5-2 FA Cup first round home defeat against Sheffield Wednesday helped to swell the Merseyside club’s coffers, as did this month’s sale of striker Chris Simm to ambitious Evo-Stik first division leaders Chester and the sell-on fees received for recent transfers of former players Craig Noone and Mark Duffy.

Watson is likely to look for more striking reinforcements before next week’s deadline.

Only goal difference is keeping Southport out of the relegation zone and, while Watson’s men boast the second-best defensive record in the bottom half of the table with 38 goals conceded from their 26 league matches, they are struggling at the other end of the pitch.

Former Macclesfield and Stockport target man Matty McNeil, now 34, is the joint-top marksman with McGinn on just five goals and improving their fortunes in the final third of the pitch might prove the key to prevent Southport further enhancing their reputation as one of non-League’s biggest yo-yo teams.

Since 2003, last season’s Blue Square Bet North champions have celebrated two promotion-winning campaigns but also suffered two relegations.

Southport (probable): McMillan, Williams, Davis, Marsh-Evans, Whalley, Blakeman, Lee, Ledsham, Kissock, McNeil, Daly.


Match facts

CITY’S last League visit to Haig Avenue was on April 21, 2007, when a Clayton Donaldson penalty earned all three points and virtually secured a top five place in the Conference.

The side lined up that day as follows: Evans, Purkiss, Parslow, McGurk, James, Bishop, Panther, Woolford, Bowey, Farrell, Donaldson.

The other Conference trip to Southport in 2005/6 ended in a 4-1 City victory with Joe O’Neill scoring a hat-trick.

City made 32 Football League trips to Haig Avenue (1929 to 1978) winning nine times and drawing 11.

Players who have represented both clubs include goalkeeper Matt Middleton, Jimmy Prescott, Bobby Sibbald, Andy Provan and Laurie Calloway.

It happened on January 29

1955: In the fourth round of the FA Cup, City won 3-1 away to top amateur club Bishop Auckland with Syd Storey and Arthur Bottom (2) the scorers and so reached the last 16 for the second time in their history. The match was watched by an all-ticket crowd of 15,000. City fielded the side that had won at Blackpool the previous round namely: Forgan, Phillips, Howe, Brown, Stewart, Spence, Hughes, Bottom, Wilkinson, Storey, Fenton.

1958: City lost a fourth round FA Cup replay 3-0 at Bolton Wanderers in front of 34,062 at Burnden Park.

1971: A 1-0 defeat at Southend United and City were tenth in Division Four ten points behind the fourth club – two points for a win and four promotion places – and were not to lose again that season in the league until April 19, a run of 16 games.

1972: Paul Aimson was the scorer in a 1-0 win at Torquay United which lifted them out of the bottom four of Division Three (League One).

1973: A 3-1 win at Swansea with Paul Aimson, Eddie Rowles and an opponent on the score-sheet and City were 15th in the Third Division.

1994: Steve Bushell was the scorer in a 1-1 home draw against Bradford City. The attendance was 5,985 and City were ninth in Division Two (League One).

2000: After nine games without a win City beat Barnet 1-0 at Bootham Crescent thanks to a goal from Matt Hocking. The crowd was 2,497 and City were 19th in the Third Division (League Two).

2002: A Bootham Crescent crowd of 6,495 saw City beat Hull City 2-1 with Michael Proctor and Peter Duffield on target. It ended a sequence of ten games without a League win and City were 22nd in Division Three.

2005: Andy Bishop (2) and Lee Nogan netted in a 3-0 win at Leigh RMI and City were 18th in the Conference.

Compiled by David Batters