Preview: Southport (h)
Chester welcome Southport to CH1 on Tuesday night with hopes of extending our unbeaten run to 12 matches.
Our visit to Haig Avenue earlier on in the season was a successful one, as we comfortably dispatched of the Sandgrounders 2-0, with Elliott Whitehouse and George Glendon getting on the scoresheet.
However, Southport are formidable opponents, as their recent form suggests, with seven points collected from the last nine available. Moreover, Jim Bentley’s side have four clean sheets out of the last five games, so it is set to be a challenging test for Cal McIntyre’s men in midweek under the lights.
THE OPPOSITION
Southport currently occupy 17th position in the National League North with only five points separating them with the dreaded relegation spots.
Perhaps surprisingly the team from Merseyside are the 5th best away side in the league with 27 of their 42 points coming away from home. Only Curzon Ashton (31) and Tamworth (37) have accrued more points as the visitors this term.
The Yellows flirted with relegation last campaign and only narrowly avoided the drop by a solitary point after losing their last eight consecutive league games.
THE GAFFER
Jim Bentley joined Southport in August 2023 after the Sandgrounders endured a torrid start to the season, with only one point to their name after six matches.
Bentley’s impact was immediate with 16 points earned in their next six matches, which earned him the Manager of the Month award for November. Since then, their form has been more inconsistent, but the 47-year-old has undoubtedly steadied a ship that was in danger of sinking.
Bentley is widely regarded as one of Morecambe’s greatest ever figures after spending the large majority of his playing career with the Shrimps, amassing 298 appearances in nine years, before entering the dugout at the Mazuma Stadium for a further eight years.
Until his resignation in October 2019, Bentley was the longest serving manager in the top four tiers of English football. Stints with AFC Fylde and Rochdale followed but exactly a year after his appointment at the latter, he joined Tuesday’s visitors.
ONE TO WATCH
Goalkeeper Chris Renshaw has been in fine form of late, being instrumental in Southport’s recent run of four clean sheets in their last five games.
That form was rewarded as he was the proud recipient of the club’s Player of the Month award for the month of February.
When he’s not in between the sticks at Haig Avenue, Renshaw can be found performing his duties as an Assistant First Team Goalkeeping/Transition Coach at Blackburn Rovers.
LEAGUE FORM GUIDE
Chester FC l W16 D13 L9 l F47 A28 GD: +19 l Pos: 5th
Last Three
Spennymoor Town (H) l D 1-1 l Scorers: Christian Norton
Scunthorpe United (A) l D 2-2 l Scorers: Ben Tollitt, George Glendon
Curzon Ashton (H) l D 0-0 l Scorers: N/A
Southport l W13 D6 L18 l F42 A63 GD: -21 l Pos: 17th
Last Three
Peterborough Sports (H) l D 0-0 l Scorers: N/A
Warrington Town (A) l W 3-0 l Scorers: Richie Bennett, Marcus Carver, Adam Anson
Banbury United (A) l W 1-0 l Scorers: Marcus Carver
Match preview by Jude Deedigan.
Feature photo by Millie Johnson.
MATCH DETAILS
Kick off is 7.45pm on Tuesday night at the Leap76 Stadium. The postcode for the ground is CH1 4LT.
TICKETS
The quickest and easiest way to buy match tickets is via our online ticketing platform at chesterfc.ktckts.com. Online sales will now be available until kick off and you simply need to present your printed ticket or mobile phone to be scanned at the turnstile.
We still strongly encourage supporters to purchase tickets in advance via the below link, as purchasing in advance prior to matchday also provides a saving on the price.
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS!
Card/contactless payments are also available at the turnstiles for all open stands.
Supporters can pay with contactless, chip and pin and Apple Pay and Google Pay for The Gary Talbot (East) Stand, Harry McNally (North) Terrace and Swettenham Chemists’ Community (West) Stand. Please note the relevant turnstile further down in this article.
If you wish to pay with cash, you will need to buy your ticket from the Ticket Office before the game, however we advise arriving earlier than normal to reduce queuing times. Cash is not accepted at the turnstiles.
NATIONAL LEAGUE TV
This game will be shown live on National League TV!
Here’s all you need to know ahead of the streaming for the Vanarama National League North on National League TV.
How do I create a new account on National League TV?
Follow the sign-up process instructions – when the form asks for your favourite team, please select your favoured team or ‘Friend of Football’ if you don’t support a team in the Vanarama National League.
How do I purchase a pass?
Head to National League TV and click ‘Packages’ where you will be shown all the available Match Passes for sale.
Please select the correct Match Pass for the corresponding game you want to view. Click on ‘Buy Now’ and follow instructions to purchase.
How do I watch the stream?
If you have purchased an eligible Match Pass, click on the ‘Schedule’ tab to view the fixtures currently scheduled for streaming.
Approximately 30 minutes before kick-off, the fixture tabs will become ‘live’ (shown with a red dot appearing on them) – simply click the tab for your chosen match and you will be taken to the stream of that game.
Where do I go if I need help with National League TV?
There are two ways you can get support with anything on NLTV.
Once you’re on the homepage, you will see an orange icon that says ‘(?) NLTV Help’ which will take you through FAQs. If this function doesn’t solve things, please email nationalleaguelive@streamamg.com.
Queries sent to the National League ‘Info’ box will not be actioned.
MATCHDAY INFORMATION
WHAT’S ON
Here’s what is going on at the Leap76 Stadium as we host Southport…
THE CESTRIAN
The Cestrian bar will be open before the game and post match too with all the live football on the big screens and a wide variety of drinks on offer.
FOOD AND DRINK
We will have food available outside the ground prior to the game – as the footy scran recognised loaded fries are available inside the street food van!
Inside the ground there’s plenty of food and drinks to enjoy – with our kiosks serving the famous Cowards Pies and fantastic Hot Dogs.
GINGER CAT COFFEE
Ginger Cat Coffee will be serving their barista style hot drinks outside the ground before the game in their pop up tent, as well as Iced Coffees!
PROGRAMME
The Cestrian Programme will be available at the game, and the 40-page publication costs £2.50 at the ground.
Sales will also be available online: CLICK HERE
MATCH COVERAGE
- We will have full, FREE match commentary on Seals Live from 7.30pm on Tuesday. Tune in by visiting our Match Centre: CLICK HERE
There is also updates from the ground on our social media channels throughout the day, including…
- Match Updates on our Twitter page. CLICK HERE
- HT/FT Updates on Facebook and Instagram. CLICK HERE
- A full time match report on ChesterFC.com. CLICK HERE
- A post match interview with Calum on Chester FC TV. CLICK HERE