Sunday saw Southport Ladies embark on this seasons campaign with a home fixture against a well put together Eccles side. Having experienced relegation last season, the Ladies were keen to rebuild and restructure over the off season and get back to winning ways.

A physical, scrum heavy game - disjointed and sloppy in parts - tested both sides. Eccles took the game to Port and put the first points on the board when a loose pass by Port was cleaned up by the Eccles outside centre who ran in for the try - the conversion good.
From the restart Port started to string some good phases together but Ports continued errors allowed Eccles to rumble up the pitch. Ports defence stayed strong and held Eccles at bay and when back of the match Ambrose spotted the overlap, she calmly drew the man and passed to number 8, Littlewood, to put her cleanly through for her first of 3 tries. With the conversion unsuccessful, the score stood at 5-7. The Southport pack took control from the restart and some powerful runs and offloads by flanker, and forward of the match, Keating put Southport on the front foot before Littlewood stormed through for her second try. Again the conversion was unsuccessful but Port were leading 10-7 going into the second half.

The second half brought much of the same. Scrums, penalties and line outs were the theme, but Port began to find rhythm and took control with more stellar work from the pack and persistence from the backs. With Port camped in the Eccles half, they applied the pressure and when Eccles profited from a loose ball and made the clearance kick, young Katie Allen filling in at fullback, took the ball cleanly, made her way up the pitch and with a timely pass to Littlewood, put her through for her hattrick. Final Score 15-7.

A mixed bag for Southport with plenty to work on before their next fixture but a win against a strong Eccles side giving the Ladies confidence going forward.

Southport Ladies host Broughton Park at Waterloo Road on Sunday 5th October kick off at 2pm.