LLOYD SHINES IN AMMIES DEBUT
ADAM ROONEY may have been absent from Graham Alexander’s side but Salford’s other star signing Danny Lloyd glistened in the Surrey sunshine.
The tricky winger signed from League One Peterborough in the week and marked his first run out for the Ammies with a fine performance, as centre-back Carl Piergianni headed in a second half winner.
The acquisition of Aberdeen striker Rooney on Thursday produced headlines but he was denied a first start against Alan Dowson’s Cards.
“We’re disappointed we couldn’t get international clearance for him for a pre-season friendly which I find quite surprising,” said boss Alexander.
“We wanted to get him involved today, he’s fit and raring to go but he’ll have to wait until Tuesday now until he gets his game time.
“We need firepower and Danny and Adam certainly add to that. We’re delighted to get them on board, we’re really happy they’ve seen that they can be successful and see that ambition through with us as a club.
“We did enough today, we can do better in certain aspects. We can play quicker and with more purpose, directly through the lines and penetrating teams. But we’re learning what we are as a team and how we want to do things.
“I’m delighted with the clean sheet and the way the boys went about it but we’ve set standards higher in training and last week against Barnsley.”
Piergianni saw his header cleared off the line by Christian Jolley in only the third minute from Lloyd’s in-swinging corner.
Despite Salford’s lively attack, Woking’s Nicky Wheeler had the best chance of the firsthalf, forcing Chris Neal to save when one-on-one and then seeing his follow-up cleared by a Trialist.
Lloyd almost had his moment but goalkeeper Berti Schottel tipped his 25-yard freekick around the post.
Second half substitute Rory Gaffney saw a volley palmed behind by Schottel and then Piergianni headed over from the resultant corner.
The hour-mark signalled a host of changes for both teams and soon Lloyd’s final act was to send a curling effort offtarget.
“We can see his quality, certainly on his delivery and his end product,” added Alexander on his new signing.
“I think he’s still learning about how we want him to play in that position but he’s an intelligent player.
“He was desperate to score a goal today, I think, perhaps to introduce himself.
“He probably tried too hard on occasions but he’s a quality footballer.”
The impressive Schottel, signed from Dartford, produced a flying save from a Trialist’s effort before Piergianni, who had threatened all afternoon from set-pieces, headed in from ten yards on 77 minutes after a dubious free-kick was awarded to the away side.
The National League title favorites won’t be getting carried away by their performance but they are already beginning to impress. STAR MAN: Danny Lloyd (Salford City) ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★