Match Report: Salford City 4-0 Nuneaton Town

Salford went into the game in 4^th with promotion in their sights, and were boosted by the return of former captain Chris Lynch who returned after a brief spell in Australian football.

Salford started the game on the front foot and immediately looked to pressurise the defence of the midlands outfit. Just two minutes in, a mistake by Nuneaton right back Alex Penny gifted a chance to Salford forward Jordan Hume, but the young striker saw his effort fire off the post and into the arms of the grateful goalkeeper.

The game followed in a similar vein and it was a matter of time before the pressure told, with further chances falling to Lynch and Hulme who were denied by the impressive Chris Dibble in the Nuneaton goal. On 28 minutes David Morgan’s under hit back pass was latched onto by Salford top scorer Mike Phenix, who rounded Dibble to score his 15^th goal of the season and put the hosts one goal to the good. The rest of the half saw Salford dominate possession and look to increase their lead yet the Nuneaton defence stood firm. The half-time whistle blew with the score being 1-0 to Salford.

The second half began and Nuneaton seemed to have reacted to their manager’s talk at the break as they began to threaten and test Salford goalkeeper Jay Lynch. Nuneaton defender Morgan’s evening went from bad to worse, as on 58 minutes he diverted a long throw into his own goal putting Salford two goals up against the run of play.

The visitors began to look like a beaten team as Salford pressed for a third goal to completely end the fixture as a contest. Following increased pressure, much sought after Salford full back Michael Nottingham rose above the rest to head home a James Poole free kick to add insult to injury.

Salford joint-managers Anthony Johnston and Bernard Morley began to ring the changes and save some of their key players for Saturday’s huge derby clash against rivals FC United Of Manchester, with the returning Chris Lynch being taken off and receiving a great reception from the home crowd.

The remainder of the game saw Salford control the possession of the ball and look to see the game out, yet a final chance fell to skipper Simon Grand who headed in his first goal of the season to make the score 4-0 to Salford. Referee Paul Marsden blew the final whistle which ended Nuneaton’s run of good form and boosted Salford’s chances of promotion.

Salford co-manager Anthony Johnston was ecstatic with the result and his teams’ performance: “The lads were unbelievable tonight I couldn’t have asked for anything more, it was the perfect response to Saturday’s defeat to Halifax and we look to go again this Saturday against FC United.”