The Emirates FA Cup second qualifying round: Farsley Celtic 0 Southport 3

FARSLEY Celtic’s Emirates FA Cup journey this season proved all too brief as two goals inside a 12-minute spell early in the second half gave Southport what had looked an unlikely win after a very close first half.

The Sandgrounders play their football in Vanarama National League North, a division higher on the pyramid than Evo-Stik Premier Division Farsley, but there was very little to choose between the sides in the goalless first half.

If anything the Celts had the better of the first 45 minutes and they came closest to opening the scoring.

Jack Higgins was up front for a 13th-minute set-piece, and his header from just inside the area hit the bar.

The visitors were creating openings but Farsley were defending resolutely, and many of the Southport shots were superbly blocked.

The visitors did get a few clean strikes in but efforts from David Morgan and Dion Charles flew over the target.

Meanwhile, Higgins had dived to meet a ball back in from a half-cleared corner, only to find Sandgrounders’ keeper Dan Hanford well placed on his line.

Handford then made a much better save to deny Paul Walker’s well-struck 32nd-minute free-kick.

The visitors scored in the first minute of the second half, added a second in the 57th minute and plundered a third as the Celts pushed to get back into the tie.

Farsley boss Adam Lakeland was left stunned, saying|: “There was no way that was a 3-0 game, and I’m very disappointed by the scoreline because it looks comfortable for them when it was far from that.

“I thought it had been a very even first half, and we’d dealt with any threat, but then we concede so early in the second half from a corner, and it wasn’t even a good corner.

“It was a bad goal to give away but we recovered well from it and should have equalised but from that they go straight up the other end and make it 2-0.

"The first goal was always going to be important in a game like that and to be two down like that was hard to take.

“They got a third but I was pleased with the way we finished the game.

"I thought that all of the players who came on from the bench did really well for us and they presented a threat to Southport.

“I thought we matched them throughout but we gave away some poor goals, and that has cost us.

"One of came from our throw-in well in their final third and we throw the ball in and then give possession away cheaply.

"You can’t do that against a good side – a big side who are very physical.”

Southport broke the deadlock with their first foray forward after the re-start.

Having forced the corner, the ball was flicked on by their centre back Dean Winnard and was over the line before it hit Charles as he and a covering defender challenged.

The Celts almost levelled when a ball crossed back into the area after the visitors had half- cleared a corner fell to Nathan Cartman, but his effort was blocked and the counter ended with Charles netting a low, angled drive.

In a breakaway by the Sandgrounders in the 65th minute, Devarn Green raced forward and had options to his left but elected to go alone and calmly passed the ball into the net for the third goal as Celts keeper Kyle Trenerry advanced.