Spoils shared in
COUNTY earned a hard-fought point in the clash of the play-off contenders on Saturday, as The Hatters battled out a 1-1 draw with Salford City at Moor Lane.
Danny Lloyd’s 24th goal of the season gave Jim Gannon’s men an early lead in the eagerly anticipated clash, before a late penalty by substitute Richie Allen denied The Hatters’ what would have been a significant victory.
In front of a sell-out crowd of 1,735 in a damp and windy Salford, the second and sixth placed sides in the National League North contested a largely entertaining stalemate which leaves matters in the division’s promotion picture very much ‘as you were’.
County boss Gannon opted for three changes to the line-up which breezed past Curzon Ashton at Edgeley Park last weekend, with first choice goalkeeper Ben Hinchliffe – unavailable for the win over Curzon – back in to replace the deputising Ian Ormson, while full-back Scott Duxbury and forward Josh Amis were recalled in place of captain Mark Ross and defender Connor Hampson.
Amis started wide on the right in an attacking 4-3-3 formation for the visitors, with County seeking to land a blow early in the clash.
And, after dangerous forward Mike Phenix had bundled wide of Hinchliffe’s goal early on after good pressure by the stand-in captain Michael Clarke, The Hatters got their early lead – inevitably coming via the left boot of star man Lloyd after just thirteen minutes.
Sefton Gonzales continued his promising vein of form since returning to Edgeley Park last month by flicking on cleverly for Jimmy Ball in the centre, with the midfielder classily sliding a through ball into the path of Lloyd – and, with a lot still to do, the winger overpowered full-back Michael Nottingham to clip past Jay Lynch and in via the upright.
It was a 17th league goal of a blistering campaign for Lloyd, who promised goals after his summer move to County from table-topping Fylde. The pacey left-sided 25-yearold has also chipped in with a remarkable 19 assists, with his latest finish proving why so much interest has been reported in the Liverpudlian.
Gonzales, who has yet to look like scoring his first goal for The Hatters despite his solid start under Gannon, fired straight at Lynch on his weaker right side moments later, before Sam Minihan half-volleyed well over the crossbar from a long Duxbury diagonal.
Despite Salford earning their reputation as one of the most feared attacking line-ups in the division under jointmanagers Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley, The Hatters looked relatively comfortable after taking the lead in the first half – with Hinchliffe making one routine save at his near post from a Phenix cross-come-shot just before the interval.
The half-time break came and went without any changes for either side as County made it well into the second half holding on to their one goal advantage, and sitting in the play-off places of the National League North in the live league table.
But Salford, backed heavily by the ‘Class of ‘92’ and the onlooking Gary Neville, were able to turn to a bench packed with experience and quality – with Richie Allen and Nick Haughton making their way into the fray, and proving to have a huge impact on the remaining twenty minutes.
Haughton, a youngster on loan from League One Fleetwood Town, tricked and turned his way past the usually reliable Lewis