Salford City put four past their bitter rivals Oldham Athletic in a memorable night at Boundary Park.
Peter Cklamovski’s Ammies climb up to seventh place after their dispatching of a sorry Oldham Athletic away from home, with four different Salford scorers spreading the scoresheet in an exuberant performance.
Salford grabbed the lead in a game that was wide open from the whistle, with Luke Molyneux getting more than he bargained for when his searching cross found the far corner of the net four minutes in. The former Doncaster Rovers winger grabbing his maiden goal in Salford’s orange.
Despite a rogue couple of questionable midfield movements in possession, the Ammies looked to have both hands on the derby with ten minutes played, the marauding runs of Molyneux and marquee man Macauley Langstaff causing some early headaches for the Oldham rearguard unit before Ben Woodburn’s close ranger stung the palms of host keeper Mathew Hudson.
It looked for a moment as though Salford’s early bubble of brilliance had been burst, with Calum Kavanagh too eager and too early to follow in Noah Chilvers’ parried strike which was eventually finished by veteran striker Mike Fondop, the home jubilation was silenced by the flag on the near side as a result.
The visitors were straight down the other end within instants, Macauley Langstaff‘s emergence forced Hudson to come to close, and his short clearance fell at the feet of Kelly N’Mai, who dinked a deft finish over the last season’s golden glove winner from outside the box for 2-0.
The Salford academy graduate thought he had put an abrupt end to a moment of madness, but not before Latics star Calum Kavanagh stepped up to slot home his first legal chance of the afternoon seconds later.
A real spectacle for any of football’s traditionalists in the Boundary Park stands with either side refusing to pull their punches in the midfield battles. The hosts and visitors relishing the rivalry to create an excellent opening half hour of football.
The pendulum had swung the way of the hosts by the time the Latics were raining a string of strikes into Will Norris’ defence 5 minutes from the interval. Bragging rights were far from secure as the Ammies hurtled towards the break with tempers flaring.
A bizarre turn of events began minutes later when Isaac Searle appeared to blow for half-time 3 minutes before briefed, before waving back the players from down the tunnel to restart the end of the period – a fittingly remarkable end to a flourishing derby affair.
Micky Mellon’s men aggrieved to be below level terms returning from the tunnel, and that took shape through substitute Kane Drummond’s clever run forcing a save from Norris, before Kavanagh’s ponder from the edge of the D deflected over.
But it only took an extra ten minutes for Salford to pounce on Oldham’s lack of conviction, Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu stole into the box to poke his attempt through Hudson’s grasp and widen the visitors’ reprieve. The Ammies’ gleaming record against their Greater Manchester rivals looked likely to shine brighter with a 100% win record since 2021.
There was a moment of reflection for Salford as Gus Scott-Morris gave the visitors something to think about, clever play from Kavanagh on the left hand side bamboozled Adebola Oluwo and allowed a ball into the left-back on the box’s edge who sent a breezing effort above a grateful Norris’ bar.
Salford’s unrest began to make slight cameos as the Ammies continued to close out what would be their 5th league match unbeaten. Cklamovski looking towards sensible defensive changes to mark a real change in fortunes for the Australian since his underwhelming start.
The substitute skipper Oluwo refused to leave without repeating his antics from the last meeting between the sides, as the centre-half latched onto Luke Garbutt’s fantastic cross to bury Oldham’s hatchet with a header from point blank range.
A fitting way to round off a complete Salford performance on Oldham’s stomping ground, as the visitor’s cheeky and bold interplay leaving home supporters longing for the early finish that Isaac Searle had inadvertently provided in the first half.
