Salford City secured their first win since late October on Tuesday with a resounding 2-0 win over transpennine rivals Harrogate Town.

Goals through Ben Woodburn and Cole Stockton sealed three points for City as they rose to 11th in the Sky Bet League Two table.

Salford took the lead in the tenth minute through Woodburn with an effort from close range following a marauding run from Tyrese Fornah down the left-hand side.

The Ammies dominated the majority of the first 45 minutes with Woodburn nearly doubling his tally for the day after 21 minutes. The home side thought they were entering the break 2-0 up when Kelly N’mai bundled the ball into the back of the Harrogate net but the goal was deemed to be offside by the officials.

In the 63rd minute, goal-scorer Woodburn was replaced by Cole Stockton as the Ammies continued to press on and look towards a crucial second goal.

The home side found that desperately needed second goal through super substitute Stockton who netted his 5th goal of the season with an effort from close range when he latched onto Haji Mnoga’s pass in the six-yard box and slotted the ball past James Belshaw in the Harrogate goal.

Cole Stockton vs Harrogate - taken from X

Robinson’s side showed a dominant performance where they controlled 61% of the ball and showed real intent with 8 shots throughout the encounter.

After the match, Robinson praised the commitment of his side with key players missing through injury.

He said: “Some of the football we played in the first half was perfect for me, I thought we deserved more goals and I think the result could have been a wider scoreline.

“When you consider we had no James Chester, no Frankie Okoronkwo, no Hakeeb Adelakun, no Stephan Negru, no Ryan Watson, no Josh Austerfield and no Dan Chesters – that’s seven players we’ve got out injured.

“When you’ve got that many players out injured and win 2-0 twice at home, I think the players deserve a lot of credit and I’m really pleased from a recruitment perspective over the summer. To have that many players out injured and to put in a performance like we did today is a credit.”

“It’s a good win tonight but equally it’s how you take the knocks. Maybe we have a week where it’s three wins and we propel ourselves right into the top and into play-off contention.”

Salford City currently sit 11th in League Two, 4 points off the play-off positions. Robinson will hope his side can make ground on their top-seven rivals as The Ammies travel to 12th-place Gillingham on Saturday.

 

 

 

 

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