A step closer

side after more tireless work by the young forward, and Lloyd stepped up to curl the free-kick towards goal - with Clarke arriving with the faintest of touches to steer past Lynch.

County could have gone further ahead, firstly when Priestley’s woefully undercooked backpass was cut out by Amis, with the currently goal-shy forward seeing his one-onone effort parried by Lynch.

Amis was praised after the match by boss Gannon after yet another energetic performance, with the County chief reaffirming his belief that goals would soon come for the hard working striker.

And, as Salford pushed forward looking for a route back into the cup tie in front of 500 travelling supporters - including Gary and Phil Neville substitute Craig Carney spurned the chance to cap an impressive cameo with a goal.

Former Salford man Gary Stopforth, full of running against his old club, raced forwards to keep in a County clearance as Salford fell asleep at the back and the midfielder reached the loose ball to slip a ball in behind for Carney, who was denied again one-onone with Lynch.

Three minutes from time, there was a brief anxious moment when Hinchliffe’s parried save from James Poole left the ball loose in County’s sixyard area before Mark Ross cleared - but, in truth, The Hatters had already done enough in both performance and score line to set up that final qualifying round tie with Bishop Auckland.

Whilst County will have to remain wary of a cup upset, being drawn against the lowest ranked side left in the competition at Edgeley Park represents the best chance in a number of years for The Hatters to reach the first round proper - and, with a manager who achieved even greater Cup achievements last season with Northwick Victoria, The Hatters will be hoping this cup fever continues to roll on.