Super Salford City hammered Mossley at Moor Lane yesterday to put the hillbillies in their place after the Manchester Premier Cup final defeat last season and confirm the Ammies as the great entertainers of the Evo-Stik league, spectators seeing 21 goals in the last three home league games.
Never mind Manchester City and The Beast at the Etihad, Rio Ahmadi is on fire at the moment, hitting a hat-trick last week and adding four more against Mossley.
The Ammies' fox in the box struck after just five minutes hammering home from six yards to make it 1-0. But, despite Salford pressure, Mossley struck back after 24minutes after a break down the left wing and a cross that was turned home. 1-1.
Eight minutes later, though, Rio Ahmadi restored the lead, squeezing the ball in off the post after collecting it a couple of yards out. 2-1. Rio turned creator shortly after, rolling the ball to Mark Battersby, standing just outside the area, who hammered it past the stunned Mossley keeper. 3-1.
Mossley came back and only Josh Messer prevented them pulling a goal back when he cleared acrobatically off the line after 40 minutes. However, in stoppage time, the ball squirmed out of the hands of the Salford keeper, Danny Fradd, to be drilled home by a Mossley forward. 3-2.
It was a pulsating, scintillating, entertaining first half but would recent history repeat itself, with Salford shipping late goals to Radcliffe (3-3) and Burscough (3-4) in the past few matches? No chance!
Ten minutes into the second half, Rio Ahmadi grabbed his second consecutive hat-trick, with a quality finish after being put through by Matty Purcell. 4-2.
After 65 minutes Rio got his fourth, heading home after a superb cross with the outside of his foot by Purcell. 5-2. And Mark Battersby completed the rout late on, rounding the Mossley keeper to make it six.
The Ammies are now up to ninth in the league and face promotion hunting Warrington Town away next Saturday. The Wires must be quaking…
Photos by Andrew Goudie