Salford City have ended their three-game losing streak with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against an out-of-form Newport County.
The Ammies were walking into the game hoping to turn their league form, with there last win coming against MK Dons on January 4 2025.
And Newport County were looking to turn their form, without a win in the last five games – hoping to move away from the relegation zone.
However, it seemed that it was going to be a difficult evening for Salford City, getting off to a poor start conceding an early penalty.
New Exiles signing David Ajiboye capitalised on the mistake, displaying quick footwork that drew a clumsy challenge from Curtis Tilt, bringing him down in the box.
Shane McLoughlin calmly converted the penalty to take the lead.
With the Ammies being 1-0 down in the first 11 minutes, they had to fight back to get themselves into the game.
Salford City pressed for a quick response, creating two chances in quick succession, with winger Kylian Kouassi having the first of the two when he flashed the ball across the goal, forcing a save from Nick Townsend.
Moments later, Hakeeb Adelakun found space after a clever cutback from a heavily involved Kouassi, but his shot was straight at Townsend, failing to trouble the Newport goalkeeper.
After a brief spell of dominance from Salford, the pendulum swung. Nelson Jardim’s side carved out two clear-cut chances to double their lead.
The first came when Kai Whitmore pulled the ball back to Josh Martin near the penalty spot, but Martin fired over the bar.
Shortly after, David Ajiboye pounced on sloppy Salford defending, gliding past Curtis Tilt and rounding the goalkeeper before setting up Bobby Kamwa, whose strike was brilliantly saved by Jamie Jones.
And despite the share of chances between the two sides, Salford were eventually able to respond in the 31st minute with a penalty – with Luke Shephard before being brought down.
Awarded the penalty the Ammies were able to respond through Hakeeb Adelakun’s spot-kick – under pressure the Salford forward was able to send the goalkeeper the wrong way and placing the ball into the bottom right corner.
Karl Robinsons side had one more chance before the break when newest loan signing Lewis Warrington’s cross found Tyrese Fornah, who struck the ball cleanly, but his effort flew just over the bar.
Newport approached the second half cautiously, sitting back as Salford dominated possession but struggled to create anything of merit. In search of a breakthrough, a desperate Karl Robinson made multiple changes, committing more players forward in attack.
However, with 15 minutes remaining, Newport found relief from Salford’s relentless pressure when Tyrese Fornah was sent off after picking up a second yellow card for a late challenge on Clarke.
On the decision, Karl Robinson said: “Any fan, any player would know generally there’s got to be some sort of common sense that overrides it.”
Despite going down to 10 men, Salford continued to pile on the pressure, winning a dangerous free kick just outside the area that was fired straight into the wall by Matthew Lund.
A valiant ending to the game by the 10-man Ammies, but couldn’t find the winner.
1-1 | #SALNPT pic.twitter.com/L77BHxWWX3
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) January 28, 2025
Following the match Karl Robinson said: “I’m proud of my players, I’m proud of their attitude, I’m proud of how we pressed.
“I’m just frustrated with the result and one or two other elements.”
Following the draw, Salford will have to turn their attention to a trip to Walsall at the weekend, who, despite sitting at the top of the league, have been struggling with recent form losing their last two fixtures.
Recent Comments