SalfordOnline
Your local community website
   Salford City 1 Bamber Bridge 2
By Andy Giblin
Careless Ammies mugged again! Unibond League First Division North Salford slipped to their eighth home defeat of the season as yet another side enduring a run of wretched form were left to celebrate at the end of their visit to Moor Lane. This time it was the turn of Bamber Bridge, without an away win since November and having earned just four points from their previous ten league matches. A couple of defensive slips and an inability to capitalise on attacking possession cost the Ammies dear once more, and their supporters have witnessed just two home league wins in thirteen attempts this season. Salford made a few changes to their side for today’s game, with Cedric Ngakem-Lebou making his debut alongside Billy McCartney in the centre of defence. Gareth Thomas switched into central midfield in place of skipper Martyn Andrews, whilst Lee Neville replaced Lee Hulme as Rhodri Giggs’ strike partner. The game started in competitive manner, but both defences were on top early on and we had to wait until the 10th minute for the first chance of note. Lee Neville found himself in a little bit of space just outside the box, but his 22-yard daisy cutter was comfortable for Brig keeper Ben Hinchliffe. The game condensed into a midfield battle for a while, and although the Ammies looked lively little real impact was made on the visitors’ defence. However in the 19th minute Billy McCartney’s great diagonal pass out of defence sent Astley Mulholland away on the right flank and his curling cross into the middle was just too far in front of Rhodri Giggs. Two minutes later Brig carved out their first chance when James Heywood dropped an intelligent pass into the City box. The ball was partially cleared and fell invitingly for Danny Mahoney, but his low shot drifted wide of Andy Robertson’s right hand post. Chances were definitely at a premium, but in the 31st minute Brig’s Chris Marlow tried a snap-shot after finding himself in possession on the edge of the box. That effort flew high and wide of Robertson’s goal but Bamber Bridge were to take the lead from their next attack. Haywood was involved in the build-up again, lobbing a decent pass into the box for Chris Thompson to chase. City debutant Ngakem-Lebou lunged in with his challenge, and as both players hit the turf the referee had little hesitation in awarding the penalty. Thompson picked himself up to drill a low shot to Robertson’s left, and although the keeper went the right way the ball found its way inside the post. Salford reacted well to the goal, and with Gareth Thomas and Dave Neville battling away effectively in central midfield began to exert some pressure on the Brig defence. Just two minutes after the penalty Lee Neville got clear on the right before delivering a superb cross into the box. Giggs got up well for the header and it seemed a goal all the way until Hinchcliffe somehow managed to palm the ball onto his bar and back into play. A defender bundled the ball out for a corner that came to nothing, and the Ammies had been denied their quick equaliser. City continued to press and with seven minutes to play before half time Adam Morning’s right flank corner initiated a scramble on the edge of the Brig six-yard box. The grounded Dave Neville showed admirable tenacity with boots flashing all around and almost managed to hook the loose ball into the net before a defender hacked clear. Thomas got on the end of the clearance and crashed in a decent effort from 25 yards but Hinchcliffe had his body behind that one and was able to make a comfortable save. Play immediately switched to the other end and Brig won a left flank corner that Thompson drifted over towards the far post. Tall central defender Chris Brown got his head to the cross first, but his downwards header bounced a foot outside Robertson’s left hand post. Brig defended capably for the rest of the half in the face of some determined Salford pressure, and Hinchcliffe’s goal wasn’t seriously threatened again. Two minutes into injury time however a threaded pass somehow squirmed through to Ashley Dunn on the edge of the box but the Brig midfield man could only direct his first time effort high and wide. Not a bad half for the Ammies, but once again pressure hadn’t been turned into clear cut chances often enough and a defensive slip saw them yet again chasing the game. HALF TIME : SALFORD CITY 0, BAMBER BRIDGE 1 The Ammies came out unchanged and determined for the second half, but within three minutes they were two goals down. A high clearance out of the City defence was met by the head of Brown, and his nodded pass found its way through to Thompson. With Salford’s defence claiming offside Thompson had loads of time and space to advance into the box before planting a neat finish past Robertson. A real body-blow for Salford (and a real defensive lapse,too) and although the two goal lead flattered Brig the home side once again had a steep and largely self-inflicted mountain to climb. To their credit they set about the task willingly enough, and immediately reshuffled the pack as the quiet Morning was replaced by returning midfielder Craig Buckley. The Ammies midfield began to get on top and as a result they enjoyed the majority of possession. Nevertheless Brig stood firm, with comative skipper Neil Reynolds leading the rearguard action by example. The visitors did look occasionally dangerous on the break and just past the hour the effective Heywood ranged forward to good effect once again. His right wing run ended with a good cross to the far post but Salford right-back Darren Hockenhull did well to get there in front of Marlow to knock the ball out for a corner. Most of the attacks were aimed at the other goal though, and in the 63rd minute Astley Mulholland’s right wing break was followed by a low cross that just evaded Giggs inside the area. Lee Neville did make contact with the ball, but his first-time shot wasn’t hit well enough to trouble Hinchcliffe unduly. The Ammies didn’t have long to wait for their breakthrough however, and less than a minute afterwards top-scorer Giggs was celebrating his twelfth strike of the season. Dave Neville was enjoying an impressive game in midfield and his beautifully weighted ball into the box set Giggs clear of his marker and from 10 yards out he placed a finish beyond Hinchcliffe and into the net. The Ammies are sometimes a little bit guilty of over-playing around their opponents’ box but this goal was a perfect example of how simple a game this can be. As was expected the goal ushered in a further spell of Salford pressure but Brown and Phil Robinson were working hard in the centre of the Brig defence and chances to equalise were frustratingly few. Salford stuck to their task, and with 18 minutes left to play Giggs once again displayed his excellent aerial ability by out-jumping the taller Martin Moran to flick a header into space. Mulholland had timed his run well but his swirling cross was just behind Giggs, and Lee Neville was also unable to claim possession. Two minutes later Salford’s younger Neville brother lined up a 22-yard free kick from the inside right channel, and his firmly struck rising shot had to be smartly claimed at his left hand post by Hinchcliffe. With 13 minutes to go Dave Neville again won possession in the middle of the park and promptly played a great ball out to the right where Mulholland again made his presence felt. Once more he produced a decent cross into the box but this time Giggs was crowded out by Brig defenders and the chance was cleared. It was nearly all Salford at this stage, although Brig had determinedly denied them too many direct scoring chances. In the 79th minute Alex Mortimer broke clear on the left and his excellent cross found Mulholland inside the box and to the right of goal. The Salford winger’s rising shot just cleared Hinchcliffe’s bar and Brig’s fragile lead remained intact. Dave and Lee Neville combined again eight minutes from time when the former’s pinpoint ball out to the left flank sent the latter towards the line. His knee-high cross fizzed into the box and Giggs was under pressure as he made first-time contact to flick the ball high over the bar. Little had been seen of Brig as an attacking force for a while, but in the 83rd minute a dipping cross from the left found substitute Phil Denney at the far post, but from close-range the ex-Radcliffe forward could only direct his header wide. The Ammies were immediately back onto the offensive, and within sixty seconds Darren Hockenhull’s deep cross from the right was nodded out at the far post by a Brig defender. Lee Neville’s control on the chest was top rank, but the first-time shot that followed was disappointing and the ball flew over the bar from 8 yards. City introduced Barry Massay into the fray with three minutes to go, in a last ditch effort to disrupt Brig’s defence but the visitors kept possession intelligently as they ran down the clock. In the first minute of injury time Salford almost conceded another sloppy goal as Robertson advanced to the edge of his box before heading clear a dangerous ball forward. He failed to direct the clearance well enough however, and Thompson found himself in space, but with a hat-trick beckoning snatched at the shot to sent it high and wide. Nearly three minutes of added time had elapsed when a scramble on the edge of the Brig box saw the ball squeezed through to Giggs inside the box. For a second it seemed he must level the scores but Hinchcliffe closed him down just enough and the prodded effort was deflected wide for a corner. Time had run out for the Ammies, and their supporters trailed away ruminating on yet another home defeat. There were bright spots in their display this afternoon – the defence looked more solid as the match wore on, Dave Neville and Gareth Thomas linked well together in central midfield and Giggs looked lively and dangerous up front. Astley Mulholland is settling in well too, but balancing those pluses are the costly defensive lapses and the strange inability to turn concerted possession and pressure into good chances and goals. Giggs’ goal this afternoon was only the second from open play from the last five matches, and at this level of the game that is never going to be good enough. Only once in the last eight matches have City scored more than one goal, and that too is a telling statistic. Perhaps a big lad up front might bear some of the burden currently being shouldered by the hard-working Giggs, but the team certainly need more punch in front of goal. Bamber Bridge are only the latest of a string of moderate sides to have celebrated a rare three points at Moor Lane, and another recent conqueror - Rossendale United - were beaten 8-1 today. That's a good result for Salford in terms of the league table, but not really in terms of self-esteem... There are still plenty of games left for Salford to gel as a unit – they have a talented set of players – but apart from Harrogate RA upcoming fixtures versus struggling sides are rare and performance levels will have to be raised. Roll on Prescot Cables on Tuesday ! TEAMS : SALFORD CITY : 1) Andy Robertson 2) Darren Hockenhull 3) Alex Mortimer 4) Cedric Ngakem-Lebou 5) Billy McCartney 6) Gareth Thomas 7) Astley Mulholland 8) Dave Neville 9) Rhodri Giggs 10) Lee Neville 11) Adam Morning 12) Scott Highton 14) Anthony Hogan 15) Alex Kemp 16) Craig Buckley (for 11, 52nd min) 17) Barry Massay (for 4, 87th min) BAMBER BRIDGE : 1) Ben Hinchcliffe 2) James Haywood 3) Martin Moran 4) Chris Brown 5) Phil Robinson 6) Ashley Dunn 7) Danny Mahoney 8) Neil Reynolds (c) 9) Peter Wright 10) Chris Thompson 11) Chris Marlow 12) Phil Eastwood 14) Phil Denney (for 9, 77th min) 15) Shane Oldfield (for 10, 90 + 3 mins) 16) Craig Sargeson Attendance : 121 Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
