Jorge Grant's brace secured a 2-0 win for Salford City at Cheltenham Town, extending their winning run to four matches and keeping them at the summit of League Two. The victory, Salford's first ever at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium, was sealed late on after the home side had a player sent off.
Salford now sit first in the table with 19 points from ten games, one point clear of Barnet. They have scored 15 goals this season while conceding just ten.
Grant makes the difference
The match was a tight affair for long periods. Cheltenham's Freddy Willcox received an early yellow card but, according to his manager, passed a test of discipline thereafter. The home side had moments of threat, with Jonathan Tomkinson and Ryan Broom active down the left flank, but they failed to seriously test Salford goalkeeper Will Norris. Salford's best chance of the first half came five minutes before the interval when Macaulay Langstaff saw a shot saved.
The deadlock was finally broken six minutes from time. Grant pounced on a hesitant clearance attempt from Willcox, stealing the ball and finishing calmly to give the visitors the lead.
Turning point
The game's major incident arrived in the 78th minute when Cheltenham's Ben Stevenson was shown a straight red card for denying Brendan Wiredu a clear goalscoring opportunity. Playing against ten men, Salford controlled the closing stages. They made their numerical advantage count in the third minute of added time when Kallum Cesay played in Grant, who slotted home his second to confirm the three points.
Cotterill's frustration
Cheltenham manager Steve Cotterill was left frustrated by the officiating, though he praised his team's performance. "I worry for our game. I can't see that for the life of me," he said, referring to the red card decision. He added, "We were better than them." Cotterill felt his side deserved at least a draw and mentioned other incidents, including a player ending up in the opposition dugout without a foul being awarded.
For Peter Cklamovski's Salford, it was a professional away performance that capitalised on a key moment. The result continues an impressive start to the campaign, with recent form reading three wins, one draw and one loss from the last five outings. The squad will now prepare for their next League Two fixture, a home match against 24th-placed Crawley Town on Saturday, 17 October.
First reported at Gloucestershire Live
