Southport made a dream start when Dino Maamria sliced open the Crawley defence with a ball for the advancing Alex Smith to gather, sliding the ball beneath the advancing Ben Hamer into the net.
Southport nearly extended their lead minutes later when Maamria played a ball from the right wing into the path of Lee Hoolickin, but the Southport winger was only just beaten to the ball by Ben Judge who cleared behind for a corner.
Crawley found it difficult to penetrate the Southport defence with their first chance coming from a 15-yard speculative shot by Lee Blackburn, with the ball sailing over Ryan Robinson's bar. The continuing pressure from Southport paid off after 20 minutes when Liam Blakeman spotted Maamria in space on the right side of the box, with Maamria blasting the ball beyond Hamer for Southport's second.
Dannie Bulman and Jake Edwards both shot on target, as Crawley strived to pull themselves back into the game, but Ryan Robinson was equal to the shots, causing little concern to Southport.
Not content with their two-goal advantage, Southport smelled the opportunity to effectively kill offthe game. With half-time looming, Mark Boyd blasted a shot from the edge of the area forcing a finger-tip save from Hamer, edging the ball over the bar for the corner.
During injury time of the first half, David Woozley was penalised for a mis-timed challenge on Maamria. From the resulting free kick, Woozley tugged at Maamria's shirt, leaving referee Mr Harwood no other decision than to award a penalty. Maamria stepped forward to take the spot-kick, burying the ball low to his right, and sending Hamer the wrong way.
Crawley needed to press forward if they wanted to salvage anything from this game. They were eventually rewarded for their efforts when a high, right-wing cross forced Ben Strevens to climb, heading the ball beyond Robinson.
Southport's response was immediate, and could have re-gained their three-goal advantage when Lee Hoolickin's shot from the edge of the area came back off the post. Scott Rendell was added to proceedings with 15 minutes remaining, immediately forcing a fantastic save from Robinson as his shot was pushed around the post. From the resulting corner, Strevens came close as his header went narrowly wide.
The pressure from Crawley ensured that this was no comfortable half for Southport and their supporters, who became unsettled at the visitors emerging dominance.
Tony Gray forced a good save from Hamer during injury time as Southport looked to finish of their victory in style. However, Southport's work had been completed in the first half, much to the relief of the players and supporters.
Southport nearly extended their lead minutes later when Maamria played a ball from the right wing into the path of Lee Hoolickin, but the Southport winger was only just beaten to the ball by Ben Judge who cleared behind for a corner.
Crawley found it difficult to penetrate the Southport defence with their first chance coming from a 15-yard speculative shot by Lee Blackburn, with the ball sailing over Ryan Robinson's bar. The continuing pressure from Southport paid off after 20 minutes when Liam Blakeman spotted Maamria in space on the right side of the box, with Maamria blasting the ball beyond Hamer for Southport's second.
Dannie Bulman and Jake Edwards both shot on target, as Crawley strived to pull themselves back into the game, but Ryan Robinson was equal to the shots, causing little concern to Southport.
Not content with their two-goal advantage, Southport smelled the opportunity to effectively kill offthe game. With half-time looming, Mark Boyd blasted a shot from the edge of the area forcing a finger-tip save from Hamer, edging the ball over the bar for the corner.
During injury time of the first half, David Woozley was penalised for a mis-timed challenge on Maamria. From the resulting free kick, Woozley tugged at Maamria's shirt, leaving referee Mr Harwood no other decision than to award a penalty. Maamria stepped forward to take the spot-kick, burying the ball low to his right, and sending Hamer the wrong way.
Crawley needed to press forward if they wanted to salvage anything from this game. They were eventually rewarded for their efforts when a high, right-wing cross forced Ben Strevens to climb, heading the ball beyond Robinson.
Southport's response was immediate, and could have re-gained their three-goal advantage when Lee Hoolickin's shot from the edge of the area came back off the post. Scott Rendell was added to proceedings with 15 minutes remaining, immediately forcing a fantastic save from Robinson as his shot was pushed around the post. From the resulting corner, Strevens came close as his header went narrowly wide.
The pressure from Crawley ensured that this was no comfortable half for Southport and their supporters, who became unsettled at the visitors emerging dominance.
Tony Gray forced a good save from Hamer during injury time as Southport looked to finish of their victory in style. However, Southport's work had been completed in the first half, much to the relief of the players and supporters.