“We deserved way more than a point” – Karl Robinson reflects on Salford City’s weekend loss

Salford City manager Karl Robinson praised his team’s performance, despite their weekend loss to Bristol Rovers.

The Ammies missed the chance to go top of the table in a narrow loss, as Luke Garbutt’s missed penalty in the 97th minute meant Salford lost the chance to salvage a point.

Robinson had nothing but positive comments to say about his team: “We deserved way more than a point. No individual game ever defines you, but I think I see a performance like I did today that could define us.

“We’re not what we used to be, we’re far from that. We’re a team that’s aggressive, positive and forward-thinking, and we are relentless in trying to achieve our goals. Today I’ve seen a group of players who have given me everything.

“Errors are part of being a human being, not just a professional footballer. The way the players conducted themselves and kept going, and the questions they kept asking. I’m really proud of them.”

Salford took the lead from a beautiful half volley, which Matt Butcher rifled into the top corner. Bristol Rovers responded with a late equaliser in the first half and another midway through the second half.

A 96th-minute brawl in the Bristol box resulted in a penalty for Salford and a red card for Haji Mnoga for a push in the chest on Jack Sparkes.

Garbutt’s penalty was saved and Bristol came away with the three points.

A first defeat in five.

2-1 | #BRVSAL pic.twitter.com/8jCgGbAsLe

— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) September 27, 2025

Robinson continued: “It’s not about reacting, it’s about doing the right thing again. So working hard, asking consistent questions about who we are, making sure our style is consistent with our coaching philosophy, our game and our performance levels.

“That’s what coaching is, it’s not about getting dragged into the emotion of how we got beat. We’ve got beat, we know exactly why we got beat, we make sure we know the little things and we’re better next week.

“I want to talk about my players performance and they’ve given me everything. Our club today should be proud and our fans thank you for the support. We should be proud of that performance and keep driving and keep asking questions and getting better.”

Salford host Grimsby Town on Saturday, who sit one place below them in 5th, with Salford looking to get back to winning ways and put themselves back in the automatic promotion spots.