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   Prescot Cables 1 Salford City 2
By: Andy Giblin Salford City emerged victorious from a hard-fought tussle at Valerie Park this evening, claiming the points by virtue of the odd goal in three. The long grass on the pitch was perhaps more suitable for the fauna of the adjacent safari park, but the Ammies stuck diligently to their task to nick their second win at Prescot in six months. Darren Quick was forced into a defensive reshuffle for this one, as Alex Mortimer’s run of 55 consecutive first team appearances came to an end due to unavailability and Matt Cross assumed left-back duties in his place. Lee Cooper stepped up from the bench to partner Billy McCartney in the centre of defence, but despite an accomplished performance the evening would not end happily for the ex-Coppull United man. Martyn Andrews returned to the side, taking the captain’s armband he held for most of last season and Ashley Kelly dropped down to the bench to accommodate him. Other than that the Ammies were unchanged from the side that rescued a late point against Trafford on Saturday, and they were soon putting pressure on the Prescot goal - resplendent in their new 'Hibernian' style green and white away strip. In just the fourth minute of the match Prescot keeper Farah Jackson was penalised for handball just outside his box, and was awarded a yellow card for his troubles. Rhodri Giggs stepped up and from just left of centre curled a sublime free-kick just inside Jackson’s right hand post to open the scoring. A great start for Salford, but Prescot were undaunted and immediately went looking for a quick equaliser. Karl Brown was to feature in most of the home side’s better moments during the first half, and three minutes after Giggs’ memorable strike he sent a 25-yard effort goalwards. Andy Robertson was alert to the danger though, and got down well to his right to make the save and retain possession of the ball. The home side were soon threatening again, and with 9 minutes on the clock a long ball into the Salford half sent Aaron Rey and Dale Wright clear of the retreating defence. Possession fell to Wright, and he cut into the box before screwing a disappointing finish wide of Robertson’s right hand post. City had ridden their luck defensively for a while but they emerged from that spell of pressure to almost extend their lead in the 12th minute. Dean Cooper was played clear through the inside left channel, and he made ground into the box before firing a decent shot goal-wards. Jackson did well to push that effort out, and for a moment it seemed that Steve Foster would be able to steer the loose ball home. A last-ditch defensive challenge denied the Salford front-man, and he could only put the ball out for a goal-kick. Prescot continued to fizz around outside the Salford box, but the Ammies forays forward looked the more dangerous. On 17 minutes Giggs floated an accurate cross from deep on the right towards the back post, but Dean Cooper’s header was comfortably claimed by Jackson. The ball was thumped forward by the keeper, and a midfield tackle saw possession fall kindly for the energetic Rey but his 20-yard effort flew wide of Robertson’s right hand post. Brown created another chance for Cables in the 20th minute when his cross from the right caused consternation amongst Salford’s defenders. Paul Lundon was on hand to nudge a header goal-wards but Robertson managed to smother the effort on his goal-line. Just one minute later it was Salford’s turn to threaten, and they were only prevented from scoring by a superb piece of goalkeeping from Jackson. An Ammies attack saw the ball pumped into the Prescot box, and Dean Cooper could only prod a pass sideways towards the penalty spot. Foster was onto the chance in a flash, and his shot seemed a goal all the way until the Prescot keeper flung out an arm to push the ball over the bar. The game had been fairly open so far, but the ten minutes or so before the break produced only a couple of chances – and both fell to the visitors. On 32 minutes good work from Foster and Giggs on the right culminated in a 22-yard shot from the latter that flew well over Jackson’s bar. Two minutes later the hugely industrious Gareth Thomas nicked possession just inside Prescot territory and nimbly evaded a challenge before firing a 25-yard shot clear of the crossbar. That was mostly it for the first half action, and the Ammies had just about edged the play to deserve their narrow advantage. HALF TIME : PRESCOT CABLES 0, SALFORD CITY 1 The second half started more slowly than the first, with Prescot’s attacks being comfortably contained by a composed looking Salford defence. In the 54th minute the Ammies put together a crisp attacking move that found Foster in some space deep inside the Prescot half. The striker unselfishly threaded a great through-ball for Dean Cooper to chase and he advanced into the box before rolling a clinical finish past Jackson. A comfortable two-goal cushion for City, but just after Cooper’s strike Giggs was forced out of the action after taking a knock, to be replaced by Ben Beresford. Prescot certainly had no thought of throwing the towel in, and in the 56th minute a cross from the right towards the far post found Lundon. Robertson had slipped on the uncertain surface as the ball flew into the danger area but Lundon couldn’t take advantage and his header was well wide. The home side responded to their lack of attacking penetration with a double substitution on the hour, but it was the Ammies who created the game’s next chance. In the 64th minute Jamie Tandy's cross into the box was nudged on cleverly by Darren Hockenhull, and Beresford turned smartly before whipping a 15-yard shot wide of Jackson’s left hand post. Two minutes later Dean Cooper jinked past a challenge on the right to give himself a sight of goal but his 20 yard shot was well over the bar. Seconds afterwards Prescot’s Brown was on the end of a decent move, but from inside the box he could only lift a shot high over Robertson’s crossbar to leave City’s lead intact. Other than that isolated chance Cables were fading out of the game somewhat, and Salford almost put the game firmly beyond their hosts with 17 minutes to play. Tandy was the architect of the opportunity, sliding a nice ball through for Beresford and the youngster used his considerable pace to get clear of the defence. His shot from 15 yards was a good one, but Jackson rescued his side again with a good save to his left and he made that an impressive double with a blocking stop from Foster’s follow-up. There was a third bite of the cherry for Salford, but the angle was tight this time and Foster’s shot was wide of Jackson’s left hand post. It was looking like a straightforward win for the Ammies at this stage, but their opponents on Saturday discovered that the points aren’t safe until the final whistle and there was a sting left in the tail of this match too. Prescott had run out of attacking ideas, but in the 81st minute Tandy’s back-pass was held up by the long grass and failed to make it back to Robertson. The alert Brown nipped in on the chance, only to be felled by a desperate challenge from Lee Cooper. The referee had no option other than to impose the double-whammy punishment of a penalty and a red-card, and whilst there can be no arguing with the decision Cooper deserved better following an assured performance. Brown stepped up to take the spot-kick himself, and drilled a low finish to Robertson’s right with the keeper committed the other way. From their position of relative comfort Salford now found themselves defending a narrow advantage whilst a man short, and Prescot sensed their chance had come. Darren Hockenhull moved into the centre of defence, with Dean Cooper dropping to right back as the Ammies re-adjusted. As might be expected the home side pressed forward, but despite a few nervy moments the Salford defence largely held firm, and Robertson was not to be seriously troubled again. Indeed, Cables one-man advantage only lasted for five minutes, after which Wright received a straight red card for a crude challenge on Tandy. Five minutes of injury time jangled the nerves of the travelling support, but their side coped well with the late pressure and the final whistle put the seal on a determined Salford performance. Whilst the team never quite clicked into their best form, they showed sporadic flashes of quality and an admirable team spirit to chalk up a first win of the season. The defence looked capable of evolving into a mean unit, despite tonight’s disruptions, and Darren Quick will be encouraged by a much more impressive performance this time out. TEAMS : PRESCOT CABLES : 1) Farah Jackson 2) Jamie Holme 3) Lee Smith (c) 4) Krystian Liptrott 5) Tom Spearitt 6) Mark Calland 7) Dale Wright 8) Karl Brown 9) Aaron Rey 10) Joe Gibiliru (jnr) 11) Paul Lunsdon 12) John Couch 14) Danny Jarrett (for Liptrott, 60th min) 15) David Nottage 16) Tony Cann (for Calland, 60th min) 18) Edward Whelan (for Smith, 86th min) SALFORD CITY : 1) Andy Robertson 2) Darren Hockenhull 3) Matt Cross 4) Martyn Andrews (c) 5) Billy McCartney 6) Lee Cooper 7) Dean Cooper 8) Gareth Thomas 9) Rhodri Giggs 10) Steve Foster 11) Jamie Tandy 12) Ben Beresford (for Giggs, 55th min) 14) Liam Foster 15) Ben Wheeler 16) Ashley Kelly 17) Danny Bell Attendance : 179 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? 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