COLNE lost narrowly to Conference side Southport but manager John Lister will take a lot of heart from a pre season as he hopes the Holt House side will avoid the bottom two spots this term.

A young Colne side struggled in the NWCL Division Two last season but Lister has bolstered his squad and will be aiming for a better show this time out.

Colne opened the stronger against Southport with Shaun Emmett going close in the 14 minute when his 25 yard effort grazed the top of the crossbar.

Southport responded in typical fashion when Ben Obong -- who scored twice for the first team last season on their way to finishing fourth in the Conference -- hit a wonderful effort which flew just wide of Ross Baxter's far post.

Trialist Daniel Stubberfield came close for Colne when he forced a great save from the visitors number one with a fierce free kick.

Southport's fitness began to tell as the game wore on and they clinched victory with 10 minutes remaining when Baxter couldn't hold a Danny Byrne effort and Mattie Mcginn slid the ball home into an ungarded net.

Colne made the Conference outfit -- who fielded no fewer than six players with 1st team experience -- work hard for their win and the squad are now looking forward to the kick off on Saturday at Leek.

COLNE 0 SOUTHPORT 1