Mossley's six game winning streak came to a disappointing and controversial end in their League Cup encounter at Salford on Tuesday night.

Looking at times a pale shadow of the side that had engineered that run of results, the Lilywhites could have no complaints at being two down at the interval.  The first goal they conceded was a master class in counter attacking football.  It took only four passes for Salford to move the ball from the edge of their box to Dwyer on the edge of Mossley's where the City striker slotted the ball past Liam Higginbotham.  Rather than a moment of individual brilliance, Salford's second goal was down to some poor defending; the visitors allowing Barry Massey to head home a corner with relative ease eight minutes before the break.

A reshuffling of the Mossley ranks at half-time saw them finally get a grip on the game but in and around the opposition box where they've been strong all season, they struggled to fashion any openings of note.  The one exception of note being a shot from substitute Dignan getting blocked on the line following a good solo run.

It was Dignan as well who featured in three incidents which clouded the game from a Mossley perspective.  His pace was causing the Salford defence no end of problems and twice he was pulled and hacked to the ground to the box after beating his marker, only for the referee to wave play on; on the second occasion his decision even seemed to catch the home team surprise as they stopped in their tracks under the expectation that a spot kick was to be awarded.

The third incident though was the worst and left Dignan needing lengthy medical treatment, and a journey back to the changing rooms on a stretcher, after being clattered into by a Salford defender long after he'd delivered a ball across the face of goal.  If there was any element of doubt about the other penalty claims there could have been none whatsoever with this one, yet the referee brushed away Mossley's appeals with the ease he had done the others.

The fault for the defeat can't be placed at the feet of the officials though.  In the end it's the contrasting performances of the two sides in the first half that's the reason for them exiting the competition at the first hurdle.

Report by SJNR

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