Salford City football Club

Another bit of penalty-area pickpocketing from Ian Henderson proved enough to beat a determined Barrow side at the Peninsula Stadium. The Ammies’ leading scorer notched his 10th league goal of the season just before the half-hour and despite having to soak up some second-half pressure, Richie Wellens’ team never really looked likely to relinquish their grip on the points. Salford now lie just outside the division's automatic promotion places on the back of priceless back-to-back home wins.

The was a single enforced change from the XI that started last Tuesday’s victory over league leaders Cambridge United. Defender Tom Clarke suffered a head injury during that game and was replaced this evening in Salford’s 3-man defence by Ashley Eastham.

There were a couple of familiar faces in the Bluebirds’ line-up, as former loan signings Lewis Hardcastle and Paddy Brough returned to Moor Lane.

Thankfully this evening was relatively mild and dry, and although the game got off to a pacey start it would take 5 minutes for the first suggestion of a chance to appear. Ibou Touray was the architect, darting almost to the line on the left before pulling a pass back into the path of the advancing Ash Hunter. This sort of situation can signal real danger for opponents but Hunter failed to get great contact on a low shot that bounced wide of the far upright.

The Bluebirds went close themselves a couple of minutes later after a long Bobby Thomas throw-in from the right was cleared. Neal Eardley must have been close to 40 yards from goal as he left fly with a ferocious dipping effort that dropped inches over Václav Hladký’s crossbar.

That would have been some goal, but there were to be few more efforts of note during the first half.

Salford began to dominate possession after Eardley’s near miss and Henderson collected a quick Hunter throw from the right before turning to get in a shot that bobbled wide of the far post.

There would be plenty of neat passing and pressing from the Ammies, but Barrow were defending Joel Dixon’s goal well. Midway through the first half Jason Lowe found room to drill in a low 22-yarder from just left of centre. It was decently struck, but straight at the keeper who was able to scoop and collect.

A week ago Cambridge learnt the hard way that veteran striker Henderson has a nose for unexpected goals, and the Bluebirds took similar instruction in the 29th minute. Burnley loanee Thomas loitered in possession inside his own area and HENDERSON was on him in a flash, nipping in before guiding a low 16-yarder from left of centre inside the far post.

Experience and opportunism from Henderson but his cool finish didn’t exactly open the attacking floodgates. Salford looked comfortable in possession, yet a lot of the passing today went sideways and backwards. Barrow’s main attacking threat came from those long Thomas throw-ins, although the home defence seemed to be comfortable enough defending them.

The visitors fashioned a sniff of a chance 9 minutes before the interval after Brough’s cross from the left dropped beyond the far post. Eardley met the ball on the run but couldn’t keep his angled 18-yard effort down.

The Ammies pressed for the remainder of the half without managing to exert Dixon particularly, and it was Henderson’s goal that separated the teams at the interval.

HALF-TIME: SALFORD CITY 1 BARROW 0

The second half started off in muscular fashion yet didn’t really ignite in terms of goalscoring opportunities. The Bluebirds were certainly more ambitious after the break, getting men forward and beginning to exert some pressure on the home defence.

In the 55th minute Ollie Banks clipped a pass to the right for Luke James to deliver low into the penalty area. There were blue shirts buzzing around but it was home defender who got there first to clear.

The Bluebirds took a blow soon after that as injured skipper Hardcastle was forced to retire, replaced by debutant Mace Goodridge.

Even so, Michael Jolley’s side were looking more dangerous and on the hour a neat build-up involving James and Goodridge allowed Scott Quigley to get in a shot that went wide. Barrow went closer a few minutes later when Thomas curled a great cross from the right towards the near post where James got in a glancing header. Home keeper Hladký had enjoyed a quiet evening so far, but reacted quickly here to push the ball around the upright for a corner.

Eardley was the provider in the 67th minute with a decent delivery from the right. James had his back to goal on the edge of the 6-yard box and his touch towards goal proved simple for Hladký to deal with.

The Ammies were struggling to click into anything like the attacking gear that swept Cambridge aside 7 days ago, and with just over 20 minutes to play James Wilson replaced Richie Towell.

Within seconds Hunter had gone down inside the Barrow penalty area but the referee decided that was simulation and rewarded it with a yellow card. Thomas followed him into the notebook, courtesy of a very heavy challenge on Paul Coutts.

The Bluebirds continued to make most of the attacking running – such as it was – yet were largely held at arm’s length by some resolute Salford defending. Neither keeper was being given much to do, and that situation didn’t change after Brandon Thomas-Asante came on for Henderson with 8 minutes left.

There were a minimum of 5 minutes to be added on, but the only moment of concern for Salford came when an Eardley free-kick from deep on the right dropped into the box. A crowd of players went up to challenge, but the ball skidded off a Barrow head and well outside the far post.

There was time for no more and although the champagne football that undid Cambridge was absent, the points were no less securely in the bag.

FULL-TIME: SALFORD CITY 1 BARROW 0

A result that takes the Ammies up to 4th place in the table, their highest position since the season’s very early weeks. They had to work hard for the 3 points this evening and although the entertainment value didn’t go off the scale, this was a job well done. Credit is due to Barrow, who dug in during the first half and came out for the second with a real sense of purpose. The Bluebirds need points to secure their league status and were prepared to scrap for everything.

This is without doubt the strangest ever campaign, with players performing in empty stadiums and games coming thick and fast (weather allowing, of course). All in all, it’s a bit of a slog and if a game yields 3 points and a clean sheet, that has to be seen as a success.

There are still 19 league games left to play – in slightly less than 3 months – so although style would be nice, results are the priority. The Ammies are unbeaten at home, conceding less than a goal a game and look like they just might be slipping into a winning run. Bring on the next opponents...