Salisbury 1 v 0 Welling United

Nationwide Conference South

Report by James Underwood

AFTER the disappointing away defeat to Farnborough Town on Bank Holiday Monday, Adrian Pennock again made numerous changes to his Wings side.

Out went Joe Vines, John Guest and Andrew Sam, in came Mark Goodfellow, Chris Moore and Akwasi Edusei, in a bid to put a stop to their inconsistent performances.

Five minutes into the game and it was Ellis Green who went closest for Welling when the impressive wideman fired over after Jamie Day's corner was punched clear.

However, it was a quiet first 20 minutes with the Wings defence holding strong and restricting Salisbury City to long balls.

It was the visitors who had the majority of the early possession but created very little in terms of real scoring chances.

On the half-hour mark the home side kicked into gear and cranked up the pressure on the Wings back four.

Jamie Turner pulled off a magnificent save to deny Aaron Cook's effort and push the ball to safety.

Welling's best attack of the game came five minutes later when Leon Solomon on the left wing fired a cross into the six-yard box which was met by Green who couldn't finish in front of goal.

Salisbury should have taken the lead five minutes before the break when Paul Sales volleyed Luke Prince's corner inches wide.

The second half was a completely different story with the Whites dominating the game in front of a bumper crowd of 1,197.

Just minutes into the second period and a looping shot from Prince forced the Wings number one into making an outstanding save at full stretch to tip the ball over.

It came as no surprise when Salisbury took the lead on 50 minutes.

The Wings defence were caught for pace when Prince flashed past Chris Moore before seeing his shot parried into the path of hardworking Matt Tubbs who slotted home.

Former Bolton Wanderers youth Tubbs saw his second goal disallowed on the hour mark when the striker was caught offside from Tommy Widdrington's cross.

Salisbury were by now running rings round Welling with the visitors not having a single shot on target and being reduced to long-range efforts.

Danny Kedwell saw his 30-yard attempt flash wide, Jamie Day's chip-cum-cross flew harmlessly wide which summed up Welling's evening perfectly.

Further chances for Salisbury went amiss, which was little consolation, as the Wings couldn't find an equaliser.

Welling entertain Braintree Town this weekend where a number of former Wings players including Russell Edwards and Billy Burgess will return to Park View Road with The Iron.

MATCH FACTS

WELLING UNITED: Turner, Goodfellow, Solomon, Boateng, Moore, Perkins, Carthy (Benjamin, 85), Kedwell, Edusei (Bodkin, 70), Green, Day.

SUBS NOT USED: Hyde, Vines, Guest.

ATT: 1,197.