ANY football fan could not have failed to be impressed – two terrific young talents, both with so much raw ability at their feet.
Mark Houghton and Paul Taylor began the season as relative unknowns, but both are quickly forging big reputations.
On a night when league scouts were out in force at Haig Avenue, these two opposing strikers made an indelible impact on this well-fought, open contest.
Much has been written recently about Taylor, the Vauxhall Motors forward, and he did not disappoint.
Dangerously running directly at defenders, the 20-year old was a persistent nuisance – showing pace, power, perception and netting two fine goals to take him top of Blue Square North scoring charts.
Taylor’s presence was the reason for the attendance of several scouts, but the talent-spotters will not have overlooked the contribution of Houghton.
On only his third competitive start, Southport’s 18-year-old did everything other than score.
Although it was substitute Karl Noon who bagged the Sandgrounders’ dramatic 86th-minute winner, the goal owed everything to Houghton’s exquisite assist.
Receiving a huge throw from goalkeeper Richard Whiteside, the striker spearheaded the counter-attack by galloping down the right and deftly riding a challenge, before delivering a perfect cross for Noon to roll the ball home.
It sealed a pulsating finish to a breathless second period, in which Southport turned on the style to atone for a lethargic opening half display.
Peter Davenport’s side were twice required to come from behind on the night when the total number of people to have watched the Sandgrounders in Non-League football passed the million mark.
Early in the second-half, Houghton was also denied by the crossbar, foraying down the right and cutting onto his left foot, before curling a shot against the woodwork in what is becoming his trademark movement.
Davenport said: “I thought we were sluggish again to start with and they scored a good goal. We didn’t test their keeper enough in the first-half and we said at half-time that if we upped the tempo, we will get something out of the game.
“We showed an awful lot of character to come back from 2-1 down and I though we deservedly won it.
“We emphasised at half-time that we must play with width because it not only helps the wingers get the ball, it means Neil Robinson and Mark Houghton have got a little bit more space as well. I thought we moved people about much better in the second-half and produced a lot more quality.”
Taylor gave Vauxhall the lead on six minutes, latching onto an excellent pass from David Roberts and rifling his shot inside Whiteside’s near post.
The Motormen continued to make the sharper incisions, as Taylor shot over having worked a good position, while Tom Field failed to add the finishing touch to a sharp move.
Neil Prince, Robinson and Houghton had chances the Sandgrounders, who were mainly restricted to long range attempts in the first period.
But Davenport’s half-time instructions bore fruit within 56 seconds of the re-start.
Having been freed by Liam Blakeman’s through-ball, Robinson strode in from the left and stroked a measured finish past advancing keeper Andrew Murphy.
Houghton then delivered a pass that narrowly eluded Dave Prout, before the striker sent the crossbar rocking after good individual play.
A goal seemed certain when a cross from the dangerous Mark Duffy was deflected into the path of Prince, but his six-yard shot was somehow repelled on the line by Lee Cownes.
Vauxhall regained the lead on 68 minutes when Field chipped a weighted pass into the path of Taylor, who displayed real composure to lift a classy first-time finish over the onrushing Whiteside from a narrowing angle.
But within eight minutes, the Sandgrounders had restored parity. Blakeman was again the conjurer, clipping a cross towards the near post, leaving Kevin Lee to convert a free header.
And the Sandgrounders secured the win with four minutes to go as Houghton played in Noon, who made no mistake from close range.