New Salford City signing Daniel Udoh hailed his team’s “brilliant performance” as they battled to a hard-fought 3-1 win over Tranmere.
The forward, who secured a deadline day move to the club from League One Wycombe Wanderers, provided two assists as The Ammies recorded their second home win of the season.
Kallum Cesay, Jorge Grant and Cole Stockton missed chances to give Salford the lead in a first half that they dominated from start to finish.
Luke Garbutt converted from the penalty spot to give Salford a 56th-minute lead, before Omari Patrick finished off a lightning-fast Tranmere Rovers counter to draw the away side level.
With time running out, debutant Udoh made his mark as he headed the ball down for Stockton to power Salford in front, before turning provider again, setting up Ossama Ashley to curl home a fine third.
After the match, Udoh joked that both Stockton and Ashley had promised to return the favour, with the striker eyeing a first Salford goal in the next match, against his former side, Shrewsbury Town.
He said: “Both Cole and Ossama were buzzing to be fair, they came over and celebrated straight away with me. I was saying to them that I want one now, get me an assist.
“It was a brilliant day to be honest. Getting the three points is the most important thing, and, on your debut, you want to make an impact. As a striker, you think, can you score or create one? Well, I created two.”
When asked about the swift turnaround from signing for Salford, to making his debut at the first possible opportunity, the 29-year-old said that he called on his wealth of professional experience to help him hit the ground running.
“I’ve had two training days and a matchday, but getting prepared comes with the profession. I’m at an age where I can count myself as one of the experienced ones.
“The manager showed his trust in putting me straight into the team so I’m really grateful for that and the boys have been really good. It’s such a good family club and everyone has welcomed me in straight away. The match today showed I felt straight at home.”
Udoh piled praise on his strike partner Stockton, noting that it was good to be playing on the same team as the winning goalscorer after he had previously faced him as an opponent:
“Last time I played against Cole, he was League One’s Harry Kane! He is quality, and we have a great mix of youth and experience across the squad, so I’m sure we will be fine this season.”
The attacker was part of a Wycombe side that narrowly missed out on promotion to the Championship last season and divulged that the owners’ bullish ambitions drove him to put pen to paper on a deal with Salford on the final day of the transfer window.
A debut Player of the Match performance 🤩
A great start, @DanUdz9 👏 pic.twitter.com/R9kgNHg7H6
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) September 6, 2025
Gary Neville was in attendance to see his new signing in action against Tranmere, and Udoh said the ‘Class of 92’ investor had a role to play in his transfer:
“Gary spoke about wanting to get into the Championship. I was so close to getting there last year as a player dropping down from League One. I want to get straight back to League One and that is what they (the owners) are demanding as a club, we as players have to roll up our selvees and push for that.”
Although Udoh was disappointed to miss out on a debut goal, he will have the chance to open his Salford account against his former club, Shrewsbury Town, on Saturday, 13 September (3pm Kick-off).
Recent Comments