THE Lilywhites climbed into second place in the UniBond League Division One North table, courtesy of a Michael Fish hat-trick in a game which was anyone’s for the first half-hour.

Whether the game would have been different if Mark Dwyer’s early effort from the home side had gone in instead of hitting the post is open to question, but Mossley had a goal chalked off when Danny Dignan was adjudged offside.

On a couple of occasions Mossley have run out of steam towards the end of games but on Saturday it was Salford who ultimately fell short of the mark.

They opened the scoring on the half-hour when a free kick outside the box was given for obstruction and Fish curled it over the wall, much to the astonishment of Salford keeper Martin Campbell who never moved.

The second came before the break as Salford huffed and puffed and should have scored.

However, they were hit with a sucker punch when debutant Ryan Cooke neatly found Dignan who struck the ball sweetly past Campbell.

When a Salford foray forward broke down Fish broke and was denied a second when Campbell made a sprawling save, but he soon added to his tally.

Nick Boshall came on as substitute for Lee Blackshawe, and with his second touch, his deep cross was met perfectly by Fish whose header proved unstoppable.

A cross from Dignan provided the fourth and found Fish completely unmarked to shoot past the luckless Campbell.

It could have been worse as Mossley created three other chances in the last quarter when Salford’s midfield had gone AWOL and the defence lost its shape.

Attendance: 221

Graham Mather

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