Salford are back to winning ways with a solid 2-0 win over Hartlepool United with an important three points in their promotion race.
Neil Wood made two changes to the side that lost to Colchester, with Stevie Mallan and Louie Barry returning to the lineup.
Salford took some early pressure within the opening 10 minutes, with the Pools pressing high up the field and having three early attempts at goal.
Although in the 14th minute, the Ammies finally clicked into gear, as Louie Barry made a driving run and passed to Luke Bolton.
The Salford winger passed the ball back to Liam Shephard, who whipped the ball into the box with some pace and found Matt Smith, with his height favouring him in the air to head the ball into the bottom corner to get his 11th goal of the season.
It was clear that Salford was finding all their luck on the right-hand side with Luke Bolton’s pace, as the winger was unlucky not to get an assist in the 24th minute when only Matt Smith’s boot connected with the post.
But despite that threat, it was Louie Barry on the left-hand side who was able to extend the lead in the 27th minute.
The talented young winger received the ball from a fantastic drilled pass by Stevie Mallan from the halfway line.
Barry was able to drive forward with some power and had the opportunity to cut inside to bury the ball past the goalkeeper, Jakub Stolarcyzk leading to 2-0.
And with the game being a 7:45 pm kick-off, the late game was paused in the 31st minute allowing Hartlepool United player Mohamad Sylla to break his fast in Ramadan, which allowed manager Josh Askey to talk to his losing side.
Salford headed into halftime 2-0 up despite the late efforts from the Pools.
The second half began quite slowly, with both sides struggling to take advantage of the opening 10 minutes.
Hartlepool United started the same way they began the first 45 unable to break through the defence.
The best effort of the second half came from Stevie Mallan just before being subbed off for Matthew Lund.
The Salford midfielder, shooting from 30 yards out, caught the Hartlepool keeper by surprise to just push it out for a corner.
With Salford showing the difference in the league table, being able to dictate the pace of the game with Hartlepool with everything to play for in terms of survival offering nothing.
And Neil Wood would be devastated that the lead wasn’t extended by Matt Smith when he was played through in the 90th minute.
We won’t give up ✊
See you Saturday, Ammies 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZSomu3PHlm
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) April 18, 2023
It was a comfortable win for the Ammies, which may put a smile on manager Neil Wood’s face.
However, he has to remind his players they must maintain this for the remainder of the season, travelling to Walsall this week.
But things look brighter for the Neil Woods side as although playoff rivals Mansfield also collected three points, Bradford dropped points with a defeat to Swindon Town, so it’s all very much to play for.
The Bantams may be fearful of getting caught by both Salford and Mansfield as the season reaches its boiling point.
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