Salford City scored three quick second half goals last night as they picked up yet another win in the Vanarama National League.

Danny Lloyd, Adam Rooney and Tom Walker scored their goals within 11 minutes to put Hartlepool out of reach. The 3-0 win means that they have now won their last five matches and remain unbeaten – a streak that stretches over 10 games. They now sit in second place – two points behind Leyton Orient.

Both sides started off strongly, sharing possession and creating chances as they tried to stamp their authority on the game.

There were no real threatening chances until the 29th minute of the match. Tom Walker had his effort finger tipped onto the bar and out for a corner. The subsequent corner was headed just wide.

The only real first half chance for the visitors came five minutes before the break when defender Carl Magnay fired straight into the gloves of Chris Neal from range.

Following the restart, both teams started the half as they started the previous one. End to end football was the way the game was going to be played as the two teams exchanged counter attack after counter using the wide channels.

The deadlock was eventually broken in the 64th minute as Danny Lloyd headed the hosts in front after diving onto a Scott Wiseman cross from the left flank.

Following the opening goal, the Hartlepool heads dropped and Salford managed to strengthen their lead as captain, Adam Rooney, scored in a similar fashion to Lloyd. This time the assist came from Walker as he whipped in a corner. This goal was Rooney’s eighth league goal of the season, making him the top goal scorer in the league

Salford weren’t finished yet however, as Hartlepool managed to keep the home attack quiet. Walker had looked menacing all game and was finally rewarded 15 minutes from time when he was able to fire home a low cross from Rory Gaffney.

After the match, Ammies boss Graham Alexander talked about the magnitude of the victory.

He said: “It’s a big win for us as they’re a good team. We knew going into this game that they played good football.

“Credit must go to the players for the work ethic shown. Pressure was applied at the front and this was backed up all over the pitch.” Alexander added.

Goal scorer, Danny Lloyd, was pleased to get his first goal from open play and joked about scoring a header.

He said: “You’d be surprised! I’ve scored a few over the years and I’ll take them [goals] however they come.

“We took the game by the scruff of the neck and went on to get two and three. It’s something that we struggled with at the start of the season. The lads deserve massive credit.” Lloyd added.

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