A strike from Rory Gaffney and a late own goal gave Salford City victory in their final warm-up game of the summer, with Altrincham's reply coming from a certain Jordan Hulme. A decent afternoon’s entertainment at the J. Davidson Stadium with some good football for the near 900 crowd to enjoy.

A number of Salford players were rested following yesterday’s training game against Burnley but Graham Alexander was still able to field a strong side. Mark Shelton had the first sight of goal just 3 minutes in but after being played in by Nick Haughton he couldn’t hit the target.

The Robins were looking spritely too, giving an experienced Salford defence plenty to think about during the early stages. With a quarter of an hour played full-back Andy White pushed forward on the right before slipping a low ball into the near post. Josh Hancock – who had a pre-season with Salford a few years ago – got in a first-time effort that was blocked by Max Crocombe.

Soon after that Brendan Daniels’ corner from the right found Jake Moult but from 12 yards out he planted a header high over the bar. The Ammies broke quickly through Danny Lloyd whose low 18-yarder wasn’t all that far wide.

Salford had a trialist playing on the left side of midfield and he cut inside just past the midway point of the first half. Haughton picked up the pass before letting fly with his left foot, only to see the ball deflected behind for a corner.

A Haughton corner was headed just over by Jake Lawlor in the 31st minute but by this stage of the game both sides’ attacking efforts were marked more by intent than achievement. It looked as if the half would end without a goal until Salford struck out of the blue less than two minutes before the break. Haughton was the architect, carrying possession inside from the left prior to picking out GAFFNEY. A good first touch was followed up by an even better finish as the former Bristol Rovers man tucked a low effort inside Tony Thompson’s left-hand post.

HALF TIME: ALTRINCHAM 0 SALFORD CITY 1

A narrow advantage for the Ammies but as local luminary Frank Sidebottom wisely observed, “The Robins aren’t bobbins”. Salford started the second half positively as a Haughton corner from the right was headed over by Nathan Pond. The next action of note would produce an equaliser for the home side.

A brief spell of Alty pressure led to a low Hancock shot that Crocombe pushed onto the inside of his right-hand post The ball ran back almost along the goal-line and the race was on to get to it first. Since this friendly was announced Salford fans had been predicting a goal from HULME and he gleefully proved them correct, sliding in at the far post to lift the ball into the back of the net.

An equaliser Altrincham probably deserved but they very nearly went behind again within a minute or two. Haughton received a low forward pass on the left, turning away from Alty’s James Jones before advancing on goal. In full flow the ex-Fleetwood man is difficult to stop and here he did what he does so well, slaloming away from a couple of challenges before cutting inside, a yard outside the area. The approach work deserved a goal but it wasn’t to be as a right-footer flew narrowly wide of Thompson’s left-hand stick.

The second half already looked likely to be better than the first and the home side were enjoying their best spell so far. In the 54th minute another familiar name – John Johnston – rolled a corner in from the right. Daniels was the recipient and he slammed in a low shot that appeared to be on target until the ball spun off a defender and behind for a corner.

Three minutes later Moult powered in an effort that was adjudged to have been handled by a defender and Alty had a free-kick in a dangerous, central position. Daniels hit the set-piece well, getting around the wall to its right and Crocombe had to get across smartly to push the low effort away. Hulme got to the bouncing loose ball but from a very difficult angle could only nod a looping effort that dropped over the bar.

At the end populated by Salford’s travelling support Lloyd delivered a great cross from the right but Gaffney’s header was just a little bit too high.

As the midpoint of the half approached the Robins made three substitutions, replacing Moult, Max Harrop and keeper Thompson with Simon Richman, Sean Williams and Elliot Wynne. For the visitors academy player Kamar Moncrieffe replaced the trialist.

As often happens in friendlies the changes affected the rhythm of the game and here quite a bit of the home team’s attacking momentum was lost. Salford seized the initiative and put together a quality move with 18 minutes to play. Gus Mafuta passed inside from the left with Lloyd and Shelton playing a neat one-two as the ball was moved forward at pace. A switch to the right gave Haughton the chance to direct a low pass to the near post where a defender just about managed to poke the ball behind as Moncrieffe closed in.

Another neat move ended with Mafuta getting into the area on the left where his low shot on goal was blocked by a defender. Having regained possession the Ammies’ midfielder was forced wide and his attempt to flick a ball back into the middle was thwarted by smart reactions from keeper Wynne.

With 12 minutes to play Salford edged back into the lead although it took a stroke of good fortune to get them there. Haughton pushed forward on the left before playing a neat cross into the penalty area.
It was a decent enough delivery but there seemed to be little danger until Alty’s James Jones – stretching all the way – diverted the ball past Wynne and inside his left-hand post from 6 yards out.

In hindsight the defender should probably have left that one but the damage had been done. The last dozen minutes or so would be fairly quiet with Haughton’s effort from distance the closest Salford would come to a third. In the penultimate minute Hulme twisted and turned on the right-hand side of the area but his attempt to lift a ball into the centre was claimed by Crocombe.

FULL TIME: ALTRINCHAM 1 SALFORD CITY 2

A winning end to Salford’s pre-season and this was a more than useful outing against an Altrincham side who are gearing up nicely for their return to the National League North.

Ammies manager Graham Alexander will have assessed his squad and must now decide on his line-up for next week’s season opener –vs- Leyton Orient. That game, screened live on BT Sport – kicks off at 12:30pm next Saturday, ushering in another chapter in one of the game’s most compelling stories. Make sure you’re at The Peninsula Stadium for what promises to be a thrilling instalment as a famous old club open the Ammies' inaugural National League campaign.

TEAMS:
Altrincham: 1. Tony Thompson (Elliot Wynne 64), 2. Andy White, 3. Connor Hampson, 4. James Jones, 5. Liam Goulding (Ben Harrison 68) 6. Jake Moult (Simon Richman 64), 7. John Johnston, 8. Max Harrop (Sean Williams 64), 9. Jordan Hulme, 10. Josh Hancock (Bay Downing 73), 11. Brendan Daniels
Salford City: 1. Max Crocombe, 2. Scott Wiseman, 3. Ibou Touray, 4. Gus Mafuta, 5. Nathan Pond, 6. Jake Lawlor, 7. Danny Lloyd, 8. Mark Shelton, 9. Rory Gaffney, 10. Trialist (Kamar Moncrieffe 64), 11. Nick Haughton
Attendance: 898
Referee: Mr. Ben Speedie Assistants: Messrs. A. Phillips & A. Worthington