And as if to say thank you, he made a superb 68th minute penalty save to cap a great season for the loyal keeper who signed for the Port in 1999.

Neil Fitzhenry picked up both the Supporters' and Jack Carr Players' Player of the Season, while hot-shot Neil Robinson, a revelation since signing from Macclesfield took away the top scorer of the season award.

Robinson and Fitzhenry are two of the great signings manager Liam Watson has made during a season of rapid transformation.

Southport ended their UniBond 12 experience in sixth place and finished on a high with a 3-1 home win over Frickley.

Goals from Neil Robinson, his 15th in 15 appearances, skipper Chris Price and Kevin Leadbetter gave Port the victory.

And as vanquished Frickley left Haig Avenue, next season's planning was well underway. Watson has set his squad a 90-goal target for the Nationwide Conference North.

He said: "That's what we will need to be going for promotion and I am looking for a proven striker to go alongside Neil Robinson. We need a finished article not simply promise if we are to achieve.

"I know Kevin Leadbetter will contribute from the left and Carl Baker on the right. We obviously require more goals from our central midfielders and it would be nice to have our central defenders contributing from set pieces.

"I have the players targeted to do that and they should be signed up in the next three weeks.

"Especially at home, I want our supporters to really enjoy what they see and we intend to be a goal-scoring side that's tight at the back. It's an exciting time for everyone connected with the club. I can now put together the squad I believe can achieve the club's objectives which are to regain Nationwide Conference status.

"We will then sit down again and plan accordingly. I can assure supporters that I have had superb backing from the chairman and board, we have an agreed budget which I believe can fully deliver. We will strive to both entertain and achieve consistent results next season.

"The bigger the gates we attract, and I believe that the town has enormous potential, the more ammunition financially I have in the transfer kitty. That's a fact of life and we need the backing of the town to progress.

"Our loyal support has been excellent since I took over. I hope we kick off with a 1,000 plus crowd, it is my responsibility with the players to do our job and then we can build our attendances to 1,300 then 1,500."

Watson has given Southport new life and direction and it is to be hoped the club have now got a long-term manager who can put his stamp on the club with both club and management team progressing togethe.

A major pre-match boost on Saturday was the double signings of Alex Mortimer and Earl Davis. Both signed two-year contracts pledging their future to the Haig Avenue club.

Twenty-one-year old Mortimer's career has seen him at Old Trafford as a youth player, followed by a three year apprenticeship at Leicester City. It is surprising that Mortimer has slipped down to Southport's level and both his class and determination will be major assets on the left-hand side next season.

Big central defender Earl Davis is another with a footballing future. After coming on loan from Burnley last season, Davis missed the Conference run-in due to a knee injury that required surgery.He had trials at Swansea and Bury but after just missing out at Football League clubs has opted to take his career forward with Southport.

This story has been reproduced from the day's media

Jones was symbolically substituted in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat over Frickley to a standing ovation after making his 135th start for the Sandgrounders.

This first thing Watson did when he arrived at Haig Avenue was to withdraw the 33-year old, Prescot born player from the transfer list. But the ‘Port manager told the Lancashire Evening Post, ‘It's been my hardest decision in football. Barry has been a great help in the dressing room and an ally but we need to move on and I cannot guarantee Barry a starting place in August, he doesn't want a squad role.’

Jones was signed in the summer of 2001 by then manager Phil Wilson and was a consistent starter in central defensive pairing and a back 3, becoming a favourite with the fans. Jones was transfer listed by Mike Walsh in September 2003, but since Watson’s arrival, Jones has remained a regular starter at both centre-back and make-shift right-back.

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Out of the 4 awards presented before Saturday’s home match against Frickley Athletic, only one player, Steve Dickinson was at the club at the beginning of the season, indicating the impact of the club’s recent transformation.

24-year old Fitzhenry won the ‘Player’s Player of the Season’ and the ‘Supporter’s Player of the Season’ awards after making a huge impact since his November signing form UniBond First Division outfit Workington.

Since his arrival, the left-sided centre-half has made 24 starts for the Sandgrounders, 22 of them successively until recent knee trouble forced him to miss 2 matches.

The impact of the former Leigh man has been acknowledged by supporters, players and management . Following his recent 2-year contract extension, boss Liam Watson said was quick to sing his praises. ‘Since he has come to the club he hasn't put a foot wrong and has given us a lot more solidarity at the back. He's an experienced Conference player and I can build a defence around him. Neil is another piece in a jigsaw and I am still looking for certain pieces to complement what we already have and those are likely to be summer signings.’

Goalkeeper Steve Dickinson, no stranger to annual awards over the past seasons picked up the Southport Visiter/Rewardaward Player of the Season after another consistent year between the sticks. Dickinson was the only ever-present to complete the 53 competitive games this season and was also presented with an award to mark his recent 200th appearance for the club, making him the 15th most capped player in Southport’s history.

Striker, Neil Robinson was awarded the top goalscorer of the season 15 goals this term. The former Prescot hot-shot was drafted in I December, on-loan from Macclesfield Town, but his initial time was interrupted by recurring injury and a retrieve to Moss Rose. In March, Robinson signed a 2-year permanent deal and has become an instant crowd favourite in his 16 appearances.

Also before the match, manager Liam Watson, on behalf of the team received the UniBond Goalscoring Award for March. The Sandgrounders netted 11 goals in 4 games as they won all of their games that month.

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‘Port manager Liam Watson is looking to shape his squad into serious Conference North title contenders and has clearly been impressed with 2 players he brought in on a temporary basis.

Central defender Davis first arrived at Haig Avenue 13 months ago, but his stay has frequently been interrupted by a serious injury and 2 football league trials.

After originally being drafted in at the back end of last season, Davis required a knee operation, before returning in December 2003. But after only 2 starts in the UniBond, the 20-year old had 2 unsuccessful trials at Swansea City and Bury, before returning.

Davis has fastly become a firm favourite amongst the Southport faithful and those sentiments have been shared by boss Watson who his starting to build a young and physical back line.

21-year old Alex Mortimer joined in November on non-contract terms following a spell at Gainsborough Trinity and seems to have won over many of the Southport fans with a number of convincing performances. However, Mortimer recently spent a handful of games on the sidelines following a couple of below par games, but now seems to have edged out Paul Byrne in the left back birth.

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"We will be a lot more stable for the whole of next season and I hope supporters will appreciate the squad development I intend to implement. I want to sign up our targeted players as quickly as possible and then when the squad reports back we will have virtually everything in place, that's the aim."

Team news tomorrow is very good with everyone available apart from forgotten defender Jimmy Williams.

All the Boxing Day sponsored walkers are asked to report to the pad-dock by the main tunnel at 2.30pm tomorrow so a photo presentation can take place with the ground maintenance equipment their funds bought.

This story has been reproduced from the day's media

21-year old Stone, who was placed on the transfer list in December, is the first casualty of Liam Watson’s summer rebuilding process, as he looks to establish a championship winning side ahead of next season’s Conference North.

The Liverpool born right-back joined Southport in August after being released by Second Division Notts County as part of their cost-cutting exercises.

Stone started the first 7 games of the season under then manager Mike Walsh and was part of the defence which kept 4 consecutive clean sheets at the start of the season. However, recurring ankle difficulties, first obtained in September keep Stone out for 4 months and was then denied a first team place by the excellent form of Jimmy Williams.

His chance came when Williams dislocated his shoulder which required a long lay-off and Stone deputised competently starts and impressing many.

But more ankle trouble has dogged the recent weeks for Stone and the former Blackburn and Preston defender is the first victim of Watson’s plans.

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A turbulent season concludes with much optimism in the Haig Avenue camp with Watson determined to acquire the finishing touches to a squad he believes can be competitive at the top of the new Nationwide Conference North from the August kick off.

The Sandgrounders can sign off in sixth place if they can defeat relegation threatened Frickley, who desperately need to record three points and escape the drop to UniBond Division One.

The Southport Visiter/Rewardaward Player of the Season will be presented on the pitch before kick-off, along with the Supporters' Player of the Year.

Last Saturday Southport had several chances to have put away opponents Ashton United but a combination of off-target finishing and brave goalkeeping from Danny Trueman ensured a drab scoreless draw.

Supporters should have suspected this match would never take off when the 200 Fun Day balloons refused to disperse before kick-off from their net on the centre circle.

The closest the Sandgrounders came to breaking the deadlock came when Kevin Leadbetter rattled the Ashton crossbar in the 38th minute, while hot- shot Neil Robinson rasped a couple of first-time efforts over the bar.

Watson reflected: "Ashton came for a point and went away with a point but we need to be better than that. We've had 12 good chances, four or five clear- cut chances.

"We hadn't the conviction we required and Im glad we didn't need to win that match. It was good to see Fitzy (Neil Fitzhenry) back in defence and record a clean sheet."

This story has been reproduced from the day's media

"We are now determined to identify the right players to make us equipped for Conference North. Our gate was excellent and we are aware we need to provide not just a winning side but also a side that plays in a certain way that our supporters are excited by. That will be my and Neil's (Whalley's) responsibility.

"On our shopping list will definitely be another dominant central defender, a centre midfielder, a proven striker, a second goalkeeper and cover for both full- backs. We will also be alert to quality that becomes available in the next few weeks."

This story has been reproduced from the day's media

On Monday Southport held a 2-1 half-time lead through Kevin Leadbetter and a Carl Baker penalty. That appeared to set the Port up after pulling back from Andy Hayward's 11th-minute goal.

But just 40 seconds into the second-half Celtic equalised when an Earl Davis clearance rebounded off Andy Hayward into Nathan Wharton's path on the left by-line. From an acute angle Wharton scored off the inside of the far post. Seven minutes later Davis could only stab a clearance into the path of ex-Port striker Phil Eastwood, who scored from close range.

Boss Liam Watson slammed his side's defending as schoolboy stuff and said:

"With such an excellent gate we wanted to put on a performance and I will not have it that it's the end of the season and doesn't matter.

"I want my team to perform and win every game. We can learn from this as we put together the squad this summer -we are under no illusions."

"We had a plan to play against Droylsden and apart from very sloppy defending we would have come away with some rewards. I have spoken to players in the dressing room who didn't defend as I demand. Twice we have lost 3-2 with sides scoring immediately we had equalised. "

On Saturday the Port are at home to Ashton United in the penultimate league fixture with central defender Neil Fitzhenry expected to return after missing the last two matches, which have seen the Sandgrounders ship six goals.

The match will have special off -pitch attractions as the UniBond League have sponsored all Saturdays fixtures as a 'Family Fun Day'.

This story has been reproduced from the day's media

Southport sales and marketing manager Derek Hitchcock is promising everyone a special day.

The first 50 children will receive a free burger from club caterers Caterforce.

All children will have free entry into a ball in the bucket fun game with 50 winners gaining a Uni-Bond T-shirt.

And each club has an incentive to score quickly - the fastest goal across the 21 games will lead to the scoring club receiving six training balls.

Plus all supporters will have the opportunity to win a family holiday in Europe.

All adult entries of the holiday competition will receive a Uni-Bond goodie bag.

Two hundred helium balloons will also be released and the farthest balloon will receive a top games console.

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The inaugural non-league awards will be decided by a public vote, but organisers ‘the Non-league Paper’ have been canvassing opinions from leading non-league figures for the various categories.

And Marine manager, Roly Howard told the paper today that he has been very impressed with Southport midfielder Carl Baker. ‘He’s quick, he can take people on, he can cross the ball, he’s a big lad and can take penalties. What more do you want?’

21-year old Baker joined the Sandgrounders in November from Prescot Cables and Howard described him as ‘one who could make a League player if he trained full-time.’

On his acquisition of Baker ‘Port boss Liam Watson described former Liverpool trainee as ‘non-league’s best young midfielder in the area’ and he has made a fast impact on the Southport fans.

In 24 starts, Whiston-born Baker has netted 7 times, including 3 goals in as many games in February.

Howard was also full of praise for former ‘Port central defender, James Connolly who is now at Marine. Connolly has impressed with 2 solid performances against his former club this season and the Rossett Park boss added ‘We got James about 18 months ago and he’s transformed the place. He’s strong, good in the air and has good character – I’d go to war with him and I’m not just saying that because he’s on our side.’

Supporters will decide 11 of the 16 NGA category awards, including Player of the year, manager of the year and UniBond player of the year. Readers can obtain a voting form from the weekend’s Non-league Papers, photo-copies will be accepted.

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With 4 games remaining, their 93 points means they cannot be caught by second placed Droylsden, despite the Bloods’ victory over Southport.

Steve Burr’s side have led the way for the past 17 matches after starting the season as 25/1, 10th favourite. Despite their heroics, the Nottinghamshire side will not be promoted to the Nationwide Conference, as their Watnall Road ground does not meet the requirements of non-league’s top tier.

Town’s form throughout the season has been superb and they have only spent 2 weeks near the start of the season outside of the top 3. Their consistency has made Watnall Road a fortress, suffering only one home defeat this term. Their form away from home is also by far the best in the division, with 14 wins and 3 draws out of 22 outings.

Their biggest home win (so far) this season came against Southport in September, when the Sandgrounders were thrashed by 4 goals to nil. In the reverse fixture, the ‘Port held Town to a creditable 1-1 draw in a thrilling encounter at Haig Avenue.

Their physical prowess typifies an essential credential of a championship winning side at this level. This was shown in the 4-0 demolition of Southport, when each of their goals came from set-pieces.

Manager, Steve Burr signed in the summer after relegation from the Conference with Nuneaton Borough and has instantly transformed the fortunes of previously mid-table strugglers Hucknall. Last season, they finished 8th and before that 16th and 18th. He has been assisted by former Southport number 2 and Macclesfield manager, 52-year old Peter Wragg.

Striker, Gary Ricketts is Hucknall’s leading scorer with 27 goals in all competitions, the third highest in the division. Meanwhile, former Macclesfield forward Danny Bacon has 21.

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43 people, including both sets of supporters registered votes before the crunch derby day match, but, unfortunately the majority of votes did not predict the correct result. It may just be a case of people’s hearts ruling their heads, however, over the recent weeks, there has been more of a variety in the distribution of votes.

The Marine game saw the highest number of votes registered for a draw (14), but it was Alfreton Town away on 24th January which received the biggest percentage of votes registered for a draw with 38%. While, Radcliffe Borough last weekend saw the highest number of votes registered for a Southport defeat, with 28%.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to vote over the past few months and please continue to do so. There has been an increase in the number of votes registered since the ‘Match Prediction’ started in January, the Radcliffe Borough vote recieved 36 votes and prior to that, 31 people voted for the Liverpool Senior Cup tie against Everton. We are delighted with the progress of the vote and there will be more interactive features for the new season.

Today, (8th April) Port Pie received its 19,000th visitor. Thank you to everyone who regularly visits the site and many thanks to other sites who have provided us with a link.

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Said watson: "It took us time to get going, they were really up for it and we had to defend well to keep ourselves in it. Earl Davis, in particular, deserved praise.

"Once we scored there was only one side in it, Kevin Leadbetter's and Lee Mulvaney's goals were well taken from distance, while Neil Robinson scored a typical poacher's goal to keep his great run going.

"Our away support was again excellent with, I think, more of our supporters at Radcliffe than theirs, the vocal backing was great for the lads."

UEFA 'A' coach Bret Harris is organ-ising a tournament for under-9 sides on Sunday, May 9. For further information contact 07941 280236.

This story has been reproduced from the day's media

Marine FC have organised a sponsored walk to Haig Avenue ahead of tomorrow’s eagerly awaited UniBond League derby.

10 Mariners’ fans will complete the 14 mile journey from Rossett Park with the aim to raise £1,000 for improved disabled facilities at the College Road ground. The walkers plan to arrive at Haig Avenue at 7pm after starting out at 2pm and any donations from their Southport counterparts will be greatly appreciated.

Donations can be made to webmaster Steve Rimmer or chairman Paul Lacey at the match or alternatively, can be sent to the club.

In recent seasons, Rossett Park has undergone 3 major building projects, which included new spectator entrances and a new stand, costing £350,000. The final phase of work included refitting and extending the dressing rooms, installing two new perimeter fences and building new changing facilities for female match officials.

In December, 23 walkers from Southport made the reverse journey for the corresponding Boxing Day fixture and raised £2,226.

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The Sandgrounders suffered a 1-0 reverse against Everton’s Academy side in the semi-final of the competition, but there is reported confusion over the eligibility of one of the Blues’ players.

Striker, Karl O’Donnell completed 87 minutes of the game, but was signed as a squad member for the UniBond campaign in the summer. However, an injury reportedly saw O’Donnell ‘drift away’ after he was ruled out until the summer.

O’Donnell signed on transfer deadline day of 2003 from the Liverpool College and made one substitute appearance on 29th March against Barnet. Haydn Preece, in the Southport Visiter said, ‘The question Liverpool FA officials will have to address is whether O'Donnell was a legitimate Everton player or still technically a Sandgrounder. Watch this space.’

Everton are due to play rivals Liverpool in the final after the Reds’ penalties victory against Runcorn.

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With four of their last six matches at home they are striving to overhaul Barrow and achieve a miracle by catching second-placed Droylesden.

Second place would ensure automatic promotion into the Conference but with so much uncertainty revolving around now-bust Telford, Exeter's off field turmoils and continually homeless Margate, the possibility of an slightly open Conference door for pyramid grade 'A' ground clubs is still an alive, though hope. Tomorrow ,and at Haig Avenue on Tuesday night, Steve Pickford sits out with a two match suspension so Daryl Allen will deputise in central midfield.

Steve Daly is doubtful after Tuesday night's Liverpool Senior Cup tie having sustained a dead leg in the Gainsborough win. Kevin Leadbetter also faces a two match suspension in the run-in after acquiring 10 bookings one for Southport , nine for Runcorn.

Thursday afternoon's transfer deadline past without Watson attempting any deals, with the manager calmly saying: "I'm looking to complete the squad right at the start of the summer. We know who we want and it is no use rushing into transfer activity without long-term plans.

"Anyway, for the rest of the season we have a number of good kids in the reserves and I will not hesitate in giving them a UniBond outing if the situation arises."

This story has been reproduced from the day's media

The ‘Port will disappointed to have missed out on the UniBond club of the month award after winning all 4 of their league games. Despite losing suffering defeat to Vauxhall Motors, Alfreton Town won the most prestigious monthly accolade as they won the rest of their 5 fixtures.

Much of the Sandgrounders’ success has been down to in-form striker Neil Robinson who has netted in every league game this month, scoring 8 in total. Robinson scored both goals in the 2-0 win against Spennymoor and also netted a hat-trick against Blyth Spartans. In a 4-1 win, Kevin Leadbetter scored the other, while Carl Baker and Steve Daly added to Robinson’s strike against Harrogate Town while the ex- Macclesfield man netted both goals in a 2-0 win over Gainsborough.

The award marks a real milestone in Southport’s season who managed 24 goals in the 20 games prior to Christmas and Liam Watson and his side must take all the plaudits.

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