Southport dropped to 17^th in the table as Doncaster finished their last home fixture of the season with a 1-0 win against the Sandgrounders.   Doncasters fourth Belle-Vue victory in a row could in fact have yielded more goals but for at times resilient defending from their Lancashire visitors.
Southport came close to earning themselves a point when Simon Parke came close to equalizing in the last minute.

With only the goalkeeper to beat Parke miss-hit his shot and Andy Warrington was left with an easy save.
Rovers teenage sensation Paul Green had a shot deflected for a corner after only 30 seconds for the home side but despite Doncaster forcing ten first-half corners, Southport stood strong and prevented them from gaining an advantage.

Parke's first chance of the game came in the fourth minute after escaping the offside trap but his shot cleared the bar to the dismay of the traveling support.

Doncaster winger Andy Watson fired just wide from the edge of the box in the eighth minute . Barry Miller headed the ball into the back of the net from a Tim Ryan cross just minutes later. Fortunately for Southport the offside-trap worked well and the linesman raised his flag to rule the effort out.
Barry Jones worked hard and tirelessly for the Sandgrounders, as he has all season, and came close with a 25-yarder in the 19th minute.

But the home side continued to dominate with Watson having a flick shot saved before Ryan had a long range thunderbolt tipped over the bar.
Doncaster, with much of the early play under their belt, were denied by Steve Dickinson in the Southport goal when he saved Watson's second effort. Soon after, ex-Sandgrounders Tim Ryan missed his opportunity to open the scoring when he too failed to beat the favorite for the Southport player of the year trophy.
Dickinson continued to deny Watson, who was out to impress the visiting scouts. In the 38^th minute an angled drive by the winger was stopped dead in its tracks by the Haig Avenue favorite.

The second half was more even, with both sides struggling to find an opening. Rovers had another effort disallowed in the 62nd minute when Robert Gill fired home after Barnes had handled in the build up.

Southport began to look more dangerous with the big man Simon Parke heading wide in the 63rd minute but it was Doncaster who made the all important breakthrough a minute later.

A rare mistake by Dean Howell saw Paul Green latch onto the ball to set up Barnes who finished from close range.

Steve Jones came close with 20 minutes remaining, firing into the side-netting when close in on goal but luck just wasn't going Southport's way.
Southport battled to the finish but were out of luck when Steve Whitehall had a shot on the turn well saved in the closing stages.

Doncaster:- Andy Warrington, Jamie Price, Barry Miller, Jamie Squires (Kevin Sandwith, 54), Tim Ryan, Tristram Whitman (Lee Butler, 72), Paul Green, Ricky Ravenhill, Andy Watson (Jamie Paterson, 81), Paul Barnes, Robert Gill
Subs:- Neil Campbell, Lee Butler, Jamie Paterson, Francis Tierney, Kevin Sandwith

Southport:- Steven Dickinson, Martin Clark, Barry Jones, Shaun Teale, Chris Lane (Lee Elam, 69), Andrew Scott, Dean Howell (Lee Mulvaney, 75), Neil Grayston, Carl Macauley, Steve Whitehall, Simon Parke
Subs:- Lee Elam, John Robertson, Chris Ward, Lee Mulvaney, Phil Morgan

Referee:- M Yerby (Ashford)
Attendance:- 2151

Team stats for Doncaster v Southport
11 Goal Attempts 8, 4On Target2, 7 Off Target 6, 0 Hit Woodwork 0, 13 Corners 4, 11 Fouls 7, 7 Offsides 2

CARDS:- Yellow, Sandwith (67), foul
Ryan (90), unsporting behavior
Jones, B (26), foul.