“We had the better chances” – Karl Robinson reacts to Salford City’s draw with Bradford

Salford City head coach Karl Robinson said that his side “had a large part of the game under control” in their 1-1 draw away to Bradford City.

Ryan Watson’s strike from outside of the box was cancelled out by Brad Halliday in an entertaining first half at Valley Parade.

Speaking after the match, Robinson said: “I felt we had the better chances in the game, their biggest chance came in the first five minutes when we were stupid in a lot of our distances, we had a little too much respect.

“In the first half, we were exceptional, we were the ones asking questions. The frustration for me the goal came tactically, if we get our wide players in one-on-one situations, and trust them in those moments.

“All of a sudden because of the way we play we’re exposed in the centre of the pitch. The shot, with a little luck, hits the post and then it’s horrific luck that it drops to Halliday and it’s a good finish.

“Other than that, and two or three silly free kicks we gave away, we had a large part of the game under control. I think for us to pick up five points in that style, we’ve set our stall out of who we are, I think we can improve.”

Junior Luamba had a great game in Yorkshire, with his shot at Sam Walker being parried into the path of Ryan Watson for his goal, and picked up the Man of the Match award.

An electric performance from the youngster ⚡️@JuniorLuamba1 is your Player of the Match, powered by @TheTurmericCo 🏆#BRASAL || @TheTurmericCo pic.twitter.com/Z58X5E3HO0

— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) January 23, 2024

Speaking on his performances since arriving at the club, Robinson added: “He’s young, energetic, powerful and unpredictable. I like all of that. If he doesn’t know what he’s doing, how will the defender?

“But he’s still got to add that bit of quality in the final third. If I had one critique of the team today, it was the final third entries, that calmness to pick the right pass.

“Kelly Nmai and Junior, they’re part of this next part of what we want to achieve, and that’s being able to compete against Crewe at the weekend.”

The Ammies travel to Cheshire this Saturday, with Alexandra on a hot streak of form, currently in fourth place in EFL League Two. Kick-off at Gresty Road is at 3pm.