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   Salford City 1 Harrogate 1
by Andy Giblin
UNIBOND LEAGUE FIRST DIVISION NORTH BATTLING AMMIES SETTLE FOR A POINT Despite an enterprising second half performance Salford City had to settle for a point from this clash with fellow strugglers Harrogate Railway Athletic. The visitors' occasionally over-physical approach perhaps should have seen them reduced to ten men during the first half but the referee took a lenient view of Steve Palfrey's unpleasant challenge on City full back Alex Mortimer. Having survived unscathed from that one Railway went on to battle their way to a valuable point that extends their unbeaten run to three games. There were a couple of changes to the side that lost 2-0 at Clitheroe on Saturday, with Youth Team graduate Will Mellor making his first appearance for the club in the centre of defence alongside Billy McCartney. New signing Stuart Tulloch (from Congleton Town) also made his debut in place of Astley Mulholland on the right side of midfield. Salford reverted to a two man strikeforce, with Dave Neville pushed up front to support Rhodri Giggs. The match started brightly enough, and Rhodri Giggs had the first chance of the evening, but he lifted a 3rd minute sliding effort well over Railway keeper James Mann's crossbar. The Ammies put together a neat move five minutes later when Dave Neville touched a delicate pass in for Giggs, and he laid the ball off for Gareth Thomas. The tenacious midfielder crashed in a shot from 25 yards out but the effort flew harmlessly over Mann's crossbar. Little had been seen of Railway as an attacking force, but they came into this game on the back of two impressive home wins and confidence was high. Just before the quarter hour mark a long ball was played hopefully towards the Salford goal, and initially there seemed to be little danger for the Ammies. Will Mellor was well positioned to nod back to keeper Andy Robertson, but in a cruel stroke of fortune he miscued his header allowed Steve Palfrey to pounce on the now loose ball. The Railway striker gleefully slammed a 15 yard shot past Robertson, and Harrogate became the latest club to edge themselves into the lead at Moor Lane. To his credit Mellor refused to let that unfortunate mistake knock him out of his stride, and visibly grew in both confidence and effectiveness as the game progressed. The Ammies didn't let their heads go down after that goal, but their attacking play was perhaps a little impatient for a while as they looked to get themselves back on level terms. Quite a few moves ended when a long ball ran out of play or was tidied up by Railway's solid back four. Harrogate looked capable on the break, and eight minutes after their goal impressive skipper Ben Jones and Paul Stansfield linked well on the right before the latter played a low cross into the Salford box that had to be hacked clear. In the 24th minute goalscorer Palfrey used his pace to get away from Billy McCartney in the inside right channel, and then opted to try his luck on goal from the edge of the box. Robertson was untroubled by the effort, and Stansfield was left to remonstrate with his team-mate having moved into space to collect a pass that never came. The Ammies hadn't threatened for a little while, but within a minute of Palfrey's wasted chance Stuart Tulloch's clever first time pass found Giggs racing through on goal. The shot was straight at Mann, but that was an encouraging piece of direct play for the Ammies. Robertson was looking to instigate attacks from the back, and in the 29th minute his clever long ball sent Tulloch into space on the right. However the pass inside allowed Railway's enthusiastic defenders to close down the space and the opening came to nothing. Three minutes later a scramble on the edge of the Salford box failed to produce a convincing clearance and Harrogate's Phil Mitchell got to the loose ball first before curling a left-footed shot a yard over Robertson's bar. A match that had been physically competitive saw its first unsavoury incident in the 34th minute, and could easily have ended with a sending off. Alex Mortimer collected possession for Salford on the left only to be hit by a reckless late challenge from Palfrey. The referee consulted his linesman - who had a good view of the incident - and then produced a yellow card, much to the chagrin of Salford's supporters. That hadn't been Palfrey's first foul of the evening either, but it was certainly to be the worst of the night and in truth the Railway front man was lucky to avoid an early trip back to the dressing room. Fortunately Mortimer was able to resume after a short spell of treatment. Four minutes later Palfrey was penalised for another foul on Mortimer (although happily less over the top) to concede a free-kick just about on the half way line. Mortimer himself took the set piece, and the ball dropped invitingly into the Harrogate box. Giggs timed his prodigious leap perfectly to get his head to the ball before Mann could meet it with his fists, and the effort dropped neatly inside the keeper's left hand post. A timely equaliser for the Ammies, and with neither side mounting a serious threat before the whistle the teams went in level at the break. HALF TIME : SALFORD CITY 1, HARROGATE RAILWAY ATHLETIC 1 City came out looking determined for the second half, and they won a right flank corner just three minutes in. Lee Neville directed the set piece towards the near post but brother Dave couldn't get his close range header on target and Martyn Andrews was inches away from applying a finishing touch. Railway immediately countered and Robertson was forced into early action, diving to push away an angled shot from Palfrey. Salford were beginning to exert some consistent pressure, and in the 51st minute Lee Neville line up a free kick on the right, and just outside the box. His left footed effort had pace, but the angle was difficult and Mann was able to make a fairly comfortable stop. After this early flurry chances became fewer for a while, but on the hour Railway's Darker scooted away on the right before curling a pacy cross into the box. Robertson was alert to the danger however, and came out well to claim the ball for himself. With both sides struggling to create openings the draw was looking a hot favourite, but Salford clicked up a gear or two for the last 20 minutes. In the 68th minute Lee Neville curled an inviting cross towards the far post, and Giggs ten yard header forced Mann into a save. Three minutes later it was Lee Neville again, this time playing a neat ball up the left towards Giggs. Salford's top-scorer tried a subtle nudged header that almost sent Dave Neville clear but the ball brushed against a Harrogate defender before being cleared. The Ammies had earned a number of corners since the break, and on 72 minutes Lee Neville's left footed effort from the right found Tulloch at the near post, and Mann had to push his attempt over the bar. The Ammies continued to press forward, and Railway were being pegged back in and around their own penalty area. A minute after Tulloch's near miss Robertson launched a long pass through the middle, and the ball found its way through to Giggs. He was pushed wide by an attendant defender but still managed to fire in a powerful angled shot from the right that Mann did well to push around his left hand post. Lee Neville's deliveries from open play and set pieces were causing problems for the Harrogate defence, but frustratingly the game winning chance just refused to present itself. Neverthless the Ammies were moving the ball well, maintaining the pressure on Harrogate's defence and with fifteen minutes left almost fashioned that elusive breakthrough. Giggs showed great control inside the box to hold up the ball, and then managed to lay off a perfect pass to Tulloch. His 18 yard shot was goal bound but slammed into a Harrogate defender and rebounded to safety. Sixty seconds later Thomas tried his luck from more than 30 yards out, but although the effort had pace and was on target Mann was behind it all the way and made a comfortable claim. Despite Salford's possession and pressure Harrogate still looked capable of causing problems when getting forward on the break. In the 77th minute Palfrey did well to keep a clearance in play wide on the right, and also managed to drill the ball into the path Jones. The Harrogate skipper swung in a very decent cross, and for a moment it seemed that Stansfield would restore his side's lead. Fortunately for the Ammies his contact was poor, and a doubtless relieved Robertson was able to make a routine save. The action went straight down to the other end, and Giggs had a decent shout for a penalty turned down after he appeared to be baulked inside the Railway penalty area. The chance that perhaps should have won the game arrived with nine minutes left on the clock. Giggs met a long ball forward out of the Salford defence before sending a great diagonal pass towards Tulloch who was breaking clear on the right. With defenders struggling to close him down the Ammies winger seemed to have time to pick his spot but the ball wouldn't quite sit up for him, and when the shot came Mann was able to push it around his right hand post at the expense of a corner. A great opprotunity for Salford, but things are going to plan in front of goal at the moment, and this chance was no exception. Railway had defended stoutly but hadn't given up hopes of securing their first league away win of the season. In the next attack Tom Jackson's nicely weighted pass sent Aaron Hollingdrake away on the left and his cross found Jones in space inside the box. There was a collective holding of breath amongst the home support but Robertson made a confident catch just under his crossbar. Railway pressed again however, and less than a minute later substitute Steve Ball tee-ed up Jones on the edge of the box. The Harrogate skipper's first time lobbed effort dropped well over Robertson's bar, and that was to be his side's last chance to steal the points. The Ammies probed forward until the end, and two minutes into injury time Robertson launched another long ball forward, and Giggs again showed his aerial ability by flicking a header into the path of Dave Neville inside the box. He stretched to poke the ball goalwards but the effort was straight at Mann, and Salford were forced to settle for a point. This was better from City, and that spell of extended pressure in the second half possibly deserved the extra two points. Perhaps not an impressive result on paper, but Harrogate came into this game having beaten Garforth Town and high-flying Lancaster City during the previous week and were in no mood to roll over this evening. Darren Quick and Mark Molyneux can take some satisfaction from the chances that were created during the second half, and at times their side played some good football. There is still work to be done though, but results are improving and this performance was far removed from the recent home defeats at the hands of Rossendale and Ossett Albion. A home win (or two) would be welcome though... Will Mellor deserves a special mention...an unfortunate slip early on could have rocked his confidence but he recovered well and put in a good performance on his first team debut. TEAMS : SALFORD CITY : 1) Andy Robertson 2) Darren Hockenhull 3) Alex Mortimer 4) Will Mellor 5) Billy McCartney 6) Gareth Thomas 7) Stuart Tulloch 8) Martyn Andrews 9) Rhodri Giggs (c0 10) Dave Neville 11) Lee Neville 12) Alex Kemp 14) Craig Buckley 15) Kiefer Greig 16) Lee Hulme 17) Barry Massay HARROGATE RAILWAY ATHLETIC : 1) James Mann 2) Dan Thirkell 3) Tom Jackson 4) Nicky Darker 5) Dan Verity 6) Chris Jenkinson 7) Ben Jones (c) 8) Paul Stansfield 9) Aaron Hollingdrake 10) Steven Palfrey 11) Phil Mitchell 12) Steve Ball 14) Simon Parkes 15) Nigel Danby Attendance : 98 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. |
