Alexander pleased as late strike earns replay for Ammies

A LATE long-range effort from Richie Towell was enough to salvage a 1-1 draw for Salford City as they hosted League One Burton Albion in the FA Cup First Round.

The travelling Brewers, sitting 20 places higher in the Football League pyramid, began the tie slowly but had the ball in the back of the net inside the half-hour mark – only for John-Joe O’Toole’s header to be ruled out for a handball.

Both sides rallied in search of the opener after the interval and Joe Sbarra looked destined to give Nigel Clough’s outfit the advantage, but his venomous effort was thwarted magnificently by Ammies’ stopper Chris Neal on his return from injury.

Burton broke the deadlock moments later when Scott Fraser added the finishing touch to Sbarra’s deflected effort, but their lead proved short-lived with only seven minutes remaining; Towell collecting the ball from deep before expertly firing home from 25 yards.

An upbeat Graham Alexander said: “I thought we played really well. The players are disappointed that we didn’t win the game, so that’s a good sign for me. We weren’t hanging on to get a replay; we wanted to go and win the game.

“It shows there’s confidence in the players’ mentality and that’s great to see them flourishing and feeling more comfortable. But we can’t think that this is us at our best; I certainly think there’s more to come from the team so that’s what we have to keep chasing.”

The date of the replay is to be announced within the next week.