Welcome to the latest installment of the Gloucester Groundhopper blog.
For this installment, we travelled to Lancashire for some Sky Bet League Two action as Salford City took on Walsall at the Peninsula Stadium.
It's All In The Name
The club's nickname, The Ammies, is derived from their previous name, Salford Amateurs, from the early 1960s until the early 1970s.
Some Notable Former Salford Players
Darron Gibson
George Boyd
Adam Rooney
Brandon Thomas-Asante
Danny Webber
Some Notable People From Salford
Geoff Bent- Footballer
Christopher Eccleston- Actor
Albert Finney- Actor and Film Director
Jason Manford- Comedian
Shaun Ryder- Singer for the Happy Mondays
A History Lesson From The Gloucester Groundhopper
The club was founded in 1940 as Salford Central and competed in the local Eccles and District Leagues as a football team for local lads. Early success included two Division 2 crowns in 1955-56 and 1959-1960, as well as a Division 3 victory in 1958-59.
The club's name was changed to Salford Amateurs in 1963. That transition occurred at the same time that they advanced to the Manchester League Division 1, which they won in 1968-69 to earn promotion to the Premier League.
The Ammies were a dominant force in local football in the 1970s, winning silverware on a regular basis.
Their first trophy was the Lancashire FA Amateur Cup, which they won in 1971 after defeating Aintree Villa 4-0 at Old Trafford. Another two titles followed in 1973 (W3-1 against Langton) and 1975 (W2-1 vs Waterloo Dock), and they reached the semi-finals in 1977 before losing to Blackpool Rangers.
In the league, the Ammies stormed the Premier Division, winning the first of three consecutive league titles in 1974-75, followed by a fourth in 1978-79, laying the groundwork for another ascension up the football pyramid.
In 1975 and 1976, they won the Manchester FA Challenge Trophy, and in 1978 and 1979, they won the Manchester FA Intermediate Cup (now known as the Premier Cup).
With the Club now one of the finest amateur sides in the area, plans were made to take the Club to the next level, and in 1978 Salford FC - with the 'Amateurs' tag removed - relocated to the sports ground on Moor Lane.
After a lot of hard effort by the committee to argue for the right to use the moniker, the club celebrated their 50th year of existence in 1990 by becoming Salford City, and floodlights were also installed at Moor Lane. This was a major addition because it allowed them to enter the FA Cup for the first time, where they were drawn in the Preliminary Round against Warrington Town. The BBC selected to show the game on their Road to Wembley broadcast, although the Yellows triumphed 3-0 in front of 121 people. On the pitch, they were demoted to the Second Division in 1990-91, but were reinstated to the First Division in 1992 after another league re-structuring.
On the pitch, the 2013-14 season was shaping up to be another mid-table finish, but off the pitch, the Club was about to take another important step forward after members of the Class of '92 approached Club President Dave Russell regarding a takeover of the Club. Project 92, a consortium comprised of Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary and Phil Neville, and Paul Scholes, completed a takeover of Salford City subject to FA permission on March 27th, 2014. Later that year, Singaporean businessman Peter Lim announced the purchase of a 50% stake.
With a fresh look following the takeover, including a modernised crest and a change to red shirts, Salford started the 2014-15 league campaign unbeaten in 13 games under Phil Power. However after recovering from three consecutive defeats at the start of November, back-to-back defeats at the turn of the year resulted in a change of management with Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley being appointed from Ramsbottom United.
The pair had earned promotion from the division with Ramsbottom the previous season, and they brought many of their promotion-winning teammates with them to Moor Lane. Salford defeated Darlington 1883 to the title with 15 wins from the remaining 17 games, which was achieved ahead of the final game of the season to earn the Class of '92 their first honour.
After defeating Workington in the play-offs, the team was promoted to the National League North in 2015-16. The following season, they advanced to the second round of the FA Cup, defeating Notts County on live television in the first round before losing to Hartlepool United in the second round.
For the first time, the club became professional in the summer of 2017. A full-time squad was created, and despite a loss to Darlington on the first day, 12 wins in the next 15 games propelled us to the top of the league by the end of October, where we remained for the remainder of the season - barring one matchday. A third promotion in four seasons was secured, but Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley resigned by mutual consent.
Graham Alexander was then named manager. The team made the National League playoffs on their first try. A dramatic penalty shootout triumph against Eastleigh in the semi-final secured a place at Wembley for the first time and a meeting with AFC Fylde, who are also attempting to earn entry to the Football League for the first time. Mani Dieseruvwe scored the game's first goal in the absence of top scorer Adam Rooney, before Carl Piergianni and Ibou Touray scored in the second half to give the team a 3-0 win and a place in the Football League for 2019-20.
The club then won the EFL trophy in March 2021, after beating Portsmouth on penalties. With Richie Wellens and Gary Bowyer both taking on the managerial role in the past, Neil Wood now leads the Salford City troops as they aim to reach League One.
Honours
🏆 National League (Play-off Winners: 2019)
🏆 National League North (Champions: 2017–18)
🏆 Northern Premier League (Play-off Winners: 2016)
🏆 Northern Premier League Division One North (Champions: 2014–15)
🏆 North West Counties League Premier Division (2nd Place Promotion: 2007–08)
🏆 EFL Trophy (Winners: 2019–20)
🏆 Manchester Premier Cup (Winners: 1977–78, 1978–79)
🏆 North West Counties League League Challenge Cup (Winners: 2005–06)
🏆 Lancashire Amateur Cup (Winners: 1971, 1973, 1975)
Matchday: Salford City 1-2 Walsall
We travelled to Salford on a scorching Saturday morning as we sought yet another game that was laden with goals. We arrived in Manchester rather early, so we decided to pay a visit to the Southern Cemetery to pay our respects to former football manager Sir Matt Busby, former footballer Billy Meredith and former manager of Joy Division and New Order Rob Gretton.
After this, we headed to the stadium. Parking is limited (non existent) near the ground so we paid to park on somebody's drive which was a short walk to the stadium. Arriving at the stadium, the one thing that became clear was the lack of signage point supporters in the correct direction. We were informed that the club shop (more on this later) was located on Moor Lane, and that we could reach it through the stadium. As a result, we entered the stadium, only to be told we couldn't access it that way (as it was closed off) and we couldn't get back out the ground again.
Being in the ground so early (almost two hours before kickoff) it did give us a great opportunity to get to know the locals. I have to say, from the stewards, to the women in the food stalls (West Stand) to the supporters (shoutout to the guy dressed as Eric Cantona), everybody was really friendly and helpful when needed.
The stadium itself is quite interesting. We all know the story of Salford City by now, and five(ish) years ago the ground was pretty much nothing more than a field with a stand. Nowadays, it is a fairly good ground for League Two. One thing that I would say they would need to do, with the risk of repeating myself, is more signage. The club aim to keep going through the leagues, and with that they will get bigger crowds, and signs pointing these supporters in the right direction would save them a lot of hassle in the long run.
The atmosphere in the ground was reasonable at best. Before their games, Salford play Dirty Old Town by Salford born Ewan MacColl and this was probably the pinnacle of the atmosphere. Throughout the game, it was really hot (weather wise) and people seemed to be more focussed on staying upright than making noise, which is understandable. That's not to say it was silent, however. There were times where the crowd would chant and get behind their team.
After the game, we finally got to visit the club shop. They often say good things come to those who wait. This is a lie. The club shop is nothing more than a portakabin and it became frustrating for not just us, but the variety of supporters who were trying to buy merchandise. Do you do medium adult shirts? No. Do you sell tickets? No. Do you sell programmes? No. Pin badges? No. XXL home shirts? Yes. I appreciate its a new club shop, but we are a month into the season now, so merchandise for all clubs should be available by now.
Teamsheet
Salford City
Manager: Neil Wood
Alex Cairns (c)
Ethan Ingram
Declan John
Ossama Ashley
Connor McLennan
Stevie Mallan
Curtis Tilt
Matt Smith ⚽️
Conor McAleny
Luke Bolton
Theo Vassell
Substitutes
Joe Wright
Ryan Watson
Kevin Berkoe
Kelly Nmai
Marcus Dackers
Liam Humbles
Tosin Olopade
Walsall
Manager: Mat Sadler
Owen Evans
David Okagbue
Oisin McEntee ⚽️
Donervon Daniels (c)
Priestley Farquharson
Isaac Hutchinson
Jamille Matt
Joe Foulkes
Freddie Draper ⚽️
Taylor Allen
Ryan Stirk
Substitutes
Jackson Smith
Joe Riley
Douglas James-Taylor
Harry Williams
Aramide Oteh
Ross Tierney
Danny Johnson
The opening stages of the game were dominated by Salford City. After 15 minutes, Salford broke the deadlock at the Peninsula Stadium when a low shot from Luke Bolton hit Smith, who was able to bundle the ball past Owen Evans from close range.
Stevie Mallan was then found in acres of space 30-yards away, and his deflected shot drifted towards goal, but Evans made a wonderful stop to tip the ball over to deny the midfielder.
The Saddlers got back on level terms with Draper just a minute before the hour mark. Ryan Stirk provided a fast free-kick to McEntee, who delivered an inch-perfect cross to Draper, whose bullet header sailed past City keeper Alex Cairns.
The comeback was complete after the energetic Draper weaved his way through two Salford defenders before firing low at Cairns. The custodian made a superb save with his left leg, but McEntee was on hand to hammer home the rebound from close range.
Draper caused the defence all sorts of issues again, and the Saddlers could have had a third goal moments later. McEntee headed the ball down to Draper, who waited patiently before shooting hard and low at Cairns' goal, but the keeper made a wonderful low save to deny him a second goal on the afternoon.
Salford replied by putting late pressure on the Saddlers. Owen Evans produced two excellent stops to thwart Marcus Dackers as the Saddlers attempted to maintain their lead.
In stoppage time, Walsall's Ross Tierney nearly secured victory by looping the ball over Cairns, who was off his line, but his shot fell just over the bar. Nonetheless, Sadler's team held on to take an important three points.
Scores on the Doors
Atmosphere: 6/10
Food and Drink: 7/10
Stadium: 7/10
Welcome: 8/10
Overall Experience: 7/10
GG
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