The Whites are staying up after draw away at Welling United

A draw away at Welling United has secured Salisbury’s position in the Vanarama National League South.

Salisbury came into the game against Welling United hoping to secure an extended stay in the Vanarama National League South; all they needed to do was equal or better the result that St Albans City achieved away at Truro City.

A penalty late in the first half from Josh Hedges gave Salisbury the lead. However, Josh Redfearn’s equaliser pegged Salisbury back in the second half.

There was soon noise in the away supporters as news filtered through that Truro had taken an early lead, in fact, they were 3-0 up against St Albans, relieving some of the pressure being felt by the Whites’ faithful.

In the early stages of the game, both sides were feeling each other out. Rhys Byrne produced a great save in the 9th minute; however, the assistant’s flag was raised, and it wouldn’t have counted anyway.

Salisbury were also denied a decent chance by an offside flag after Ronan Silva slid a ball through to find Lewis Brown just five minutes later.

Salisbury’s first real effort came just after the quarter hour mark when Josh Hedges shot just wide of the upright with 16 minutes on the clock.

The hosts came closest to opening the scoring when Jez Davies hit the upright with a good backpost header in the 37th minute.

The opening goal of the game came from the spot. Josh Hedges was fouled after nudging the ball past Bramble, who hung out a leg. Hedges picked himself up and slotted the spot kick into the bottom left-hand corner to give Salisbury the lead in the 44th minute.

At this stage, Salisbury were comfortably safe, with Truro now beating St Albans by four goals to one in Cornwall, as long as Salisbury weren’t thrashed, they would be staying up.

The second half played out much like an end-of-season game without too much riding on it, though Welling did grab an equaliser. Josh Redfearn tapped in after good play from Andrews in the 63rd minute.

It could have been a defeat for the Whites, only for the width of the cross bar, when with 79 minutes on the clock, Jez Davies hit a powerful strike from just outside the box, which clipped the bar as it went narrowly over.

Salisbury saw out the remainder of the game fairly comfortably, there was even time for a cameo appearance for first team coach Theo Lewis in added time, before Salisbury’s players, staff and management celebrated with the travelling supporters behind the goal.

Salisbury’s season isn’t done just yet, though, they play in the final of the Wiltshire FA Premier Shield on Tuesday evening at the Ray Mac. They welcome Swindon Supermarine for a 7:45 pm kick-off. Tickets are available via the club website – https://salisburyfc.co.uk/tickets/