Southport 3 Preston Grasshoppers 14

HOPPERS struggled for long periods before edging their way to a quarter-final tie at Widnes on February 4.

The match was played in an icy wind and with plenty of mistakes - never pretty to watch.

Southport gained the lead with a Chris Carney penalty after 20 minutes and as Hoppers gradually broke loose they forced an error to give Nick Bell a simple chance to level the score from a penalty.

Five minutes into the second half winger Paul Cornall edged Hoppers ahead with a try, but passes continually went astray and further points came from Bell's boot with two more penalties.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.