Football – England – Conference Premier
Wednesday 10th December 2014 – Kickoff: 1945hrs
Gateshead recorded a memorable 2-0 home win over Warrington on Saturday in the second round of the FA Cup to progress through to the third round for the first time in 60 years.
They will no doubt be hoping that their cup magic rubs off on their league form when they host lowly Southport in tonight’s midweek round of Conference matches, and a win tonight could see them leapfrog Halifax into sixth spot if results go their way.
Gateshead currently sit in 7th place with an overall home record of 6-2-3 21/18 and despite winning just once in their last five, they will fancy their chances of kick-starting their play-off campaign here tonight against struggling Southport.
Forwards Shaw and Wright (6 goals each) look the most likely anytime goalscorers, along with midfielder Rodman (4 goals).
Visitors Southport go into tonight’s clash at the Gateshead International Stadium having lost their last two league matches on the trot with defeats against Aldershot Town and Lincoln City, as the Sandgrounders have racked up just one win from their last five.
An away win at struggling Nuneaton Town has been a rare highlight in recent weeks as they sit just one place above the bottom four in the Conference Premier, and I’m sure they won’t be relishing a difficult trip to Gateshead on Wednesday night.
Their overall away record stands at 3-3-5 12/17 but prior to their last away match at Lincoln, they’d won three of their previous four matches on the road. This will be an interesting test to see how they respond to that recent defeat at Sincil Bank.
Gateshead’s confidence will have received a welcome boost in the cup win on Saturday so I’ll back them to carry on where they left off with perhaps a 2-1 win tonight over Southport.
Pick: Gateshead straight win @ 1.62 Coral
