Salford, part-owned by ex-Man United stars, still in FA Cup

And although a tough replay at Hartlepool awaits, they know their name will be in the hat alongside those of Barclays Premier League sides when the draw for the third round is made on Monday.

Premier League clubs enter the cup directly in the third round and Webber, who kicked off his career at United, is excited at the possibility of coming up against such a club as the cup progresses.

The League Two visitors took the lead in the eighth minute through Rhys Oates’ penalty before Salford’s Stephen O’Halloran equalised from close-range in the 23rd minute.

That sparked jubilant scenes with Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt among the sell-out crowd. “If it ended up 1-1, 8-0 it wouldn’t really matter”.

Hartlepool passed up several decent chances to win it in the second half and Salford keeper Jay Lynch saved well from Jake Gray, while Chris Lynch and James Poole went close for the hosts. It was massive for me and Jonno to see that.

Hartlepool boss Ronnie Moore, who saw his men outfought for much of the first half and then pass up some glaring opportunities in the second, felt they had been “very fortunate”.

We’ve been so, so lucky.

The lure and responsibility of managing one of the biggest clubs in Europe had forced Gary Neville to forego returning to Moor Lane and a possible repeat of the first round success over Notts County, an occasion the England coach described as the “night of our lives”.

Asked if the Class of 92 factor had put more pressure on his team, Moore added: “It can, because of the hype that surrounds it. But the Class of 92 can’t play any more”.

Joint managers Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley said they were unlucky not to have emerged victorious after a more than creditable display.

“It’s not like we are playing them”.