Salford City and Stockport County play out entertaining draw

Salford City 1 - 1 Stockport County 

Ossama Ashley’s stunning long-range effort rescued a 1–1 draw for Salford against County in their final pre-season outing, as attention now turns to the upcoming campaign.

Author | Josh D

Stadium | Penninsula Stadium 

Stockport carved out the first clear chance just five minutes in, with Owen Moxon driving from deep into the Salford box before seeing his shot inadvertently blocked by teammate Kyle Wootton. Wootton reacted quickly, attempting a clever backheel that was well saved by Matty Young, who then watched the ball deflect behind for a corner that came to nothing.

Ten minutes later, Ben Woodburn found space on the edge of the area following neat build-up play down the left, but his shot was blocked by a Stockport trialist. The ball eventually found the net, only for the goal to be chalked off for offside.

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The opening half continued at pace, with Young called into action again to deny Odin Bailey after he created a yard of space and let fly. From the resulting corner, Young produced another strong stop to keep the scores level.

Jorge Grant was next to try his luck for Salford, but his effort was blocked by another Stockport trialist. Moxon then came close for the visitors with a fierce strike from range that flashed just wide.

Shortly after the break, Moxon slipped Benony Andresson through on goal, but Young once again came to Salford’s rescue with a smart save. The Ammies responded with a chance of their own, Hinchliffe getting down well to deny Woodburn’s low drive towards the corner.

Stockport eventually found the breakthrough eight minutes after the restart, as trialist A bundled home at close range after Young had saved the initial effort. Bailey thought he had added a second five minutes later, only to be denied by the offside flag.

It was Salford who had the final word. 

With less than 10 minutes to play, Ros Longelo switched play to Cole Stockton, who controlled well before feeding Kyrell Malcolm on the flank. His cross was half-cleared and landed invitingly for Ashley, who rifled in from distance to level the scores and round off an entertaining contest.