Match Report - Lawrence Stanley
Photo - Neil Phelps
Steven King won his first league match in charge of Gloucester City as his side staged a thrilling comeback to come from two goals behind to beat Southport at the TigerTurf Stadium.
The visitors took command of the game early on thanks to goals from Jordan Archer and Marcus Carver.
But after Matt McClure gave City a much-needed lift just before halftime, Kieran Phillips equalised in the second half to swing the momentum the home side’s way.
The substitute then completed the comeback for City after the ball fell to him in the box and he lashed a shot into the roof of the net.
City got off to the worst possible start when the ball was played out to the right hand side and slowly worked into the box by the visitors.
The initial shot by Tyler Walton was saved by Brandon Hall but Jordan Archer was there to tap in on the rebound to give Southport the lead.
The Sandgrounders continued their quick start, and Ben Morgan had to be alert to make a diving block to deny Walton.
Southport would double their lead minutes later. Marcus Carver headed in after a Josh Hmami corner was floated into box to leave the Tigers with it all to do.
City had to weather the storm more when Archer blazed over the bar from another Hmami corner.
The frustrated hosts attempted to get a grip on the game, with Sion Spence and Ben Nugent picking up yellow cards for rash challenges.
They eventually got themselves into the game with Lucas Tomlinson finding himself in behind the Southport defence and played it into Spence, who then squared it back to the forward but Cameron Mason was able to match his shot.
Gloucester got a goal back just before halftime after some good work down the right side from Daniel Leadbitter.
His cross found Spence who managed to link up with McClure and the striker was able to poke home.
It was a much better start to the second half for the hosts. Tomlinson tried a curled effort but it went straight into the ‘keeper’s hands.
Archer squandered a great opportunity to give Southport breathing space as his tame shot was easy to collect for Hall.
And it would prove costly for the away side as City levelled just after the halfway point in the second half when Owen Evans crossed to Kieran Phillips and the substitute was in the right place to finish.
With both teams pushing for a winner, it was Gloucester who got the three points in the end courtesy of Phillips’ heroics.
A long throw from the near side caused chaos in the box and after a scramble the forward was able to keep his cool to send the TigerTurf Stadium wild and give City a valuable win.
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