Take five… Salford City

County visit Salford City on Tuesday in a 7.45pm kick off, and ahead of the match County Tweet-meister Gareth Evans has put-together five factoids on our opponents for you.

  1. 1. So, 10 days into the season, and we’re already on to our fourth game. Where next?

Well, we’ll be on the road, but thankfully – with it being Tuesday night – a relatively short (albeit quite busy) highway, as we wend our way around the M60 to Kersal and take on Salford City for an all-ticket encounter at the rapidly-redeveloping Moor Lane stadium.

  1. 2. Ooh, what – them off the telly?!

The very same. The club has been much in the public consciousness since 2014, when five members of Manchester United’s ‘Class of ’92’ – namely, Gary and Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes – bought into it, and, the following year, had their venture broadcast by the BBC in the ‘Out of Their League’ documentary-series.

Salford’s endeavours on the pitch received extra, and live FA Cup, coverage from the ‘Beeb’ during 2015/16, when the ‘Ammies’, as a Northern Premier League outfit, beat Notts County and drew with Hartlepool. Two seasons further on, they have turned full-time and find themselves installed as favourites to go up from the National League North – having made the play-offs, while still part-timers, in their first campaign at this level last term. Giggs – whose brother Rhodri had once served as Salford’s player-manager – declared, at the outset of his involvement with the club, that it would be playing Championship-level football within 15 years. The race is on…

  1. 3. Heady progress achieved and predicted for modern times. The next AFC Fylde, then?

Hmm – in terms of advancement up the leagues, kind of. But the club from M7 has been around for rather longer than that in Wesham, after being formed, as Salford Central, back in 1940, and playing in local leagues for a couple of decades, ahead of joining the Manchester League in 1963 – coincidentally, alongside Curzon Ashton, who we entertained at Edgeley Park last Tuesday.

At this point, there was a change of club-title to Salford Amateurs – from which the ‘Ammies’ nickname comes – and what followed was a spell of great success, especially during the 1970s, when they generally cleaned up in the Manchester League, as well as in the Lancashire and Manchester county cup competitions. Playing at Moor Lane since 1978, and under their current Salford City name from 1989, they have subsequently risen through the Cheshire, North West Counties and Northern Premier Leagues to get where they are today.

Their red and white colours are a relatively new addition, mind. Before 2014, they sported a tangerine look, and longer ago played in navy blue.

  1. 4. What about players who have turned out for both clubs?

The links are ever-increasing in recent years! Sam Walker, Gary Stopforth and Stephen O’Halloran (for his current, second spell at EP) all joined us from Salford, while Matty Warburton spent the first half of last season as an ‘Ammy’, before returning to Curzon en route to SK3. Midfielder Tunji Moses (at County from 2013-15) has completed two spells at Moor Lane, while winger Chris Williams (2001-06) and defender Harry Worley (on our books as a teenager, before turning professional with Chelsea) played there at later stages of their careers. And, this time around, we are likely to face in Salford’s central defence Carl Piergianni (2011/12), who has signed up following his year away from the English game.

  1. 5. Should be a Moor-ish contest at the Lane, eh?!

It certainly should. As has been the case with every game so far this season, we face opponents in form – with Salford having won their last two. But we will surely be buzzing, too, after Saturday’s comeback to claim a draw, which felt almost as good as a win. And, while work continues on converting Moor Lane into a Football League-standard venue with a 5,000-plus capacity, County’s ticket allowance of 1,000 is almost twice that of our allocation for the previous visit we made just five months ago. There are 200 left, as of Monday morning. Be sure to get yours!

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Keep Up To Date With All The Latest News And Special Offers...

Your email address will not be shared with any 3rd parties




    Newsletter Signup