Chorley 3 Southport 0: Second-half goals set up victory

However, once Chorley had gone ahead soon after the break and the visitors missed their one presentable chance of the half, it was one-way traffic.

Chorley created several opportunities in the opening period without finding the net.

Scott Wilson was guilty of a bad miss from Adam Blakeman’s cross, while Southport keeper Chris Renshaw pulled off two excellent saves.

The home side should have had a penalty when Carlton Ubaezuonu was wrestled to the ground after bursting into the box but the referee, surprisingly, waved play on.

Southport showed pace and invention in sharp counter-attacks, often prompted by Danny Lloyd, but there was no end product and they gave the ball away with careless passes too often.

A blank interval scoresheet, however, indicated a close contest but that all changed on 54 minutes.

Frankie Maguire threaded a pass to Justin Johnson, who skipped past two defenders before placing his shot into the far corner.

The Sandgrounders then failed to take their one real opportunity of the half, Tyler Walton dragging his shot wide after working himself a clear opportunity.

The rest of the game was dominated by the Magpies, playing with eye-catching accuracy and relentless pressure which the now-fading visitors struggled to contain.

Jack Sampson made it 2-0 on 77 minutes when finding the roof of the net from close range.

Southport’s ultimately miserable afternoon was underlined six minutes from time when Ubaezuonu thundered a spot-kick past Renshaw following a clear case of shirt-tugging as Sampson drove into the box.

The result only added to Southport’s relegation worries, while it enabled the Magpies to strengthen their play-off hopes in fourth place.

Speaking afterwards, Chorley boss Andy Preece said: “That second half was as good as any we’ve delivered this season. I thought some of our football was simply magnificent.”

Chorley: Dearnley, Henley (Donawa 89), Wilson, Smith, Blakeman, Calveley, Maguire, Glynn, Johnson (Horbury 82), Sampson ((Shenton 89), Ubaezuonu. Subs not used: Hazlehurst, Brindle.

Southport: Renshaw, Thomson, Doyle, Flowers, Lloyd (Burgess 71), Walton, Arthur (Archer 71), Hmami, Hockenhull, Philliskirk, Bennett. Subs not used: Morgan, McMillan, Quansah.