The Ammies finished off their pre-season with a flourish, overcoming a strong Bamber Bridge side at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium.
Two goals in each half – with a hat-trick from Danny Webber – were more than enough to clinch victory against a team that will quite rightly fancy their chances of promotion at the end of the coming season and Salford’s managerial duo will be more than satisfied with the level of performance.
The Ammies were knocking the ball around nicely and in the eleventh minute Danny Webber’s slide-rule pass sent Gareth Seddon clear and his low effort clipped off the base of Joe Taylor’s left-hand upright. A harsh offside flag rendered the effort irrelevant but the signs were more than encouraging for those Salford fans in attendance.
With thirteen minutes played Curtis Thompson’s neat touch gave striker Regan Linney some space to attack but after jockeying for position he could only drill and effort straight to the Salford keeper. That was a rare opportunity for the home side and less than a minute later they had fallen behind. Webber started the move with a great ball out to the right and Jordan Hulme’s powerful running took him into the Brig penalty area. An unselfish square ball towards the far post followed and Webber was there to finish the work he’d begun, tucking neatly home from a few yards out.
Tunji Moses was having a good game in midfield and he swapped passes with Seddon before slipping the ball inside for Webber. A deft bit of control was followed by a well-hit shot from outside the box and the effort deceived Brig keeper Taylor to put Salford two goals ahead.
Bamber Bridge had certainly been restricted as far as attacking was concerned but they have quality and almost got back into the game just a couple of minutes before the interval. A good passing move worked possession to Thompson, inside the area and positioned centrally, but his attempt to place a shot beyond Jay Lynch ended with the ball drifting just wide of the keeper’s left-hand upright.
The Ammies deserved their two goal advantage at the break and any worries that Brig might force their way back into contention were firmly dispelled within ten minutes of the restart.
Five minutes into the second half Jay Lynch made a routine save and then lofted an accurate kick into Bamber Bridge territory and on Salford’s left. Brig central defender Michael Muscat got across to cover but his attempt to knock the ball back to keeper Taylor fell woefully short. Hulme was onto the ball in a flash and darted into the left-hand angle of the box before placing a clinical, low finish past Taylor and inside the far post to make the score three-nil.
A real blow for Neil Crowe’s side and before they could respond the game had been pushed well beyond their reach. Seddon collected possession on the right and advanced before checking inside and rolling a pass into the path of strike partner Webber who placed a low shot between Taylor and his left-hand post to complete his hat-trick.
A cracking start to the second half for Salford and with the game effectively won they began to make some substitutions. This time the changes hardly disrupted their rhythm and after Seddon chased a bouncing ball down the left he unleashed a powerful half-volley that smacked off the outside of the near post and out for a goal-kick.
In the penultimate minute Chadwick’s low pass to the edge of the penalty area found skipper Chris Lynch who turned with the expertise of a striker before slamming in a rising drive that Taylor just about managed to tip over the bar. The last chance of an excellent afternoon’s work for Salford fell for the busy Chadwick who picked up a loose ball outside the right-hand angle of the box and his shot curled inches wide of the far post.
