IF the gamble didn't pay off for plucky Accrington then it certainly did for Southport as they raced to a 3-0 victory in the ATS Cup final at Deepdale.

For while manager Tony Greenwood risked on the fitness of keeper Steve Berryman - it was Dave Gamble who shattered Stanley's dreams of Cup glory.

Berryman, who passed a last minute fitness test, was caught flapping a la David James at Gamble's pin-point corners which led to the two opening goals.

In the 11th minute, the 25-year-old midfield player - with arguably the sweetest left foot in the Vauxhall Conference League - scored directly from a corner after beating Berryman on his near post.

And in the 34th minute Gamble unleashed his lethal weapon again which had Berryman and his defence in all sorts of bother as Andy Whittaker bundled the ball over from close range.

But it could have been a different story for Stanley who were roared on magnificently by their fanatical following in the bumper 1,345 crowd.

In their first raid of the game in the 6th minute, Pete Smith's cross was met by Nigel Greenwood's diving header but was saved at point-blank range by Billy Stewart.

Stewart showed all the experience of a keeper with more than 300 appearances for Chester City under his belt as he went on to pull off five first class saves - the pick a double save from Mark Rawstron and Nigel Greenwood.

But the other end, Berryman was put out of his misery soon after Southport's second and was replaced by Rob Mulloy who was immediately called into action to smother a 30-yard free kick from Gamble.

After the break, Stanley stepped up the pressure but Southport were always in control and it was just a matter of time before they grabbed the third - and typically Gamble was involved. Whittaker headed his deep cross into the path of Phil Horner who hammered the ball into the roof of the net.

Tony Greenwood said: "We froze on the night and didn't do ourselves justice. We forced their keeper into more saves but did nothing in between. It was very disappointing especially for the fans who were absolutely magnificent - I've never known anything like it."

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