Salford boss Karl Robinson was critical of referee Richie Watkins after his side overcame the second-half dismissal of Curtis Tilt to salvage a 1-1 draw at Chesterfield.
James Berry put the hosts ahead in the 69th minute before Salford were reduced to 10 men two minutes later when Tilt was sent off for two yellow cards in quick succession, the first for dissent and the second following an off-the-ball incident involving Will Grigg.
However, Chesterfield could not put the game to bed and Salford snatched a late equaliser through substitute Kelly N’Mai – the Ammies’ first goal of the season.
Robinson felt his side deserved their point from the game but was far from impressed with the match official.
He said: “I can talk about multiple decisions that he didn’t give today that he gave to the opposition.
“He let silly little things go that led to that melee in the middle of the pitch.
“Then we go to the goal. Woody (Ben Woodburn) played a pass and clearly he gets pushed from behind and it hits their guy on the hand. Clearly, for everyone to see. And then Tilty has a go at the assistant referee and then gets booked.
“And then all Tilty did was step across his man. Will Grigg’s experience has got him the second booking.
“Then, really weirdly when we scored the goal, Chey Dunkley did exactly the same thing and not even a free-kick was given.
“I felt that we denied a team that scored five goals last week to very limited chances in the first half.
“We have to be better in possession. I felt that we had the best three opportunities in the first half, without actually dominating or having any period of sustained pressure in their final third.
“After the first three or four minutes of the second half, we changed the shape a little bit and we seemed to get a little bit closer to them.
“We looked a little bit more aggressive in our press. We kept two up top, even down to 10 men, with a bit of a different shape and probably deserved a draw.”
Chesterfield manager Paul Cook bemoaned his promoted side’s inability to hold onto their lead against a man less.
He said: “Just really disappointing. I feel we should see the game out.
“It’s very much a learning curve. It’s all new to us. The lads are doing really well.
“Once we scored the goal – a fantastic finish from James Berry – we’ve got to see that game out.
“We concede from a corner. Why would you put a corner in the goalie’s hand to give them an attack? We’re winning, we’ve got an extra man and we’re possession-based team. Keep the ball and they can’t score.
“Salford are a good side with some big players in this division, but I thought we controlled the game well in the first half.
“The Salford lads worked hard to get the point so I’m sure they’ll think they deserved it.”
Interim boss Stephen Frail expects Motherwell to appoint a new manager next week and admits their first job will be to lift the players’ confidence after a 3-0 mauling at home to Ross County.A double from Ronan Hale and Connor Randall’s last-minute strike secured an impressive victory for the Staggies at Fir Park.Defeat sees the Steelmen drop into the bottom half of the Premiership tab...
Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalkeeper Gabe Breeze after Carlisle picked up a vital point in the League Two relegation battle with a goalless draw against in-form Colchester at Brunton Park.Breeze made two excellent saves from Lyle Taylor as the Cumbrians ended a four-game losing run and the former Man City boss was astounded by the 21-year-old’s performance.He said: “The game had som...
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook launched a scathing attack on his play-off hopefuls after they surrendered an early lead to lose 3-1 at Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Walsall.The Spireites enjoyed a rapid start when Jamie Grimes’ eighth-minute header put them ahead against a wobbling Walsall side, who were winless in five matches with the chasing pack closing in.However, Bim Pepple and Dylan D...
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed fears of an injury scare to top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid.Haaland went down clutching his leg in the latter stages of the champions’ 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and was immediately substituted.Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow to ...
Rotherham manager Steve Evans described Thomas Parsons’ performance as “atrocious” after the referee awarded a stoppage-time penalty from which Reading snatched a 2-1 victory in League One.Reading had led 1-0 at half-time through top scorer Harvey Knibbs but Sam Nombe levelled for Rotherham from a spot-kick in the 57th minute.With the game heading for a draw, Parsons adjudged Mil...
Michael Flynn believes his team can make a charge towards the League Two play-offs places after watching them come from 2-0 down to beat Barrow 3-2 at home.Matty Taylor scored twice before fellow substitute Ashley Hay hit the winner as the Robins continued their perfect home record in 2025.Cheltenham climbed to 13th in the table and sit eight points off seventh-placed Crewe with two games in hand....
Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s work ethic after he lit up St Andrew’s with the only goal of a 1-0 win to sink play-off chasing Charlton.Stansfield’s 23rd-minute strike stretched City’s lead to nine points ahead of second-placed Wycombe, with Blues boasting a game in hand.Victory was City’s 30th in all competitions as they extended their unbea...
Andoni Iraola refused to get carried away after Bournemouth fans were left dreaming of a potential Champions League adventure following a first league double over south-coast rivals Southampton.Travelling Cherries fans chanted of playing in European football’s premier competition next season after their side soared to fifth spot in the Premier League table thanks to a deserved 3-1 success at...
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup praised his side for fighting back to draw 1-1 at Hull after he demanded “I want to see my football team back”.The Norwich boss had some tough words for his team as they trailed 1-0 at half-time to the relegation-threatened side, including for Kellen Fisher – but the player then delivered the assist for Josh Sargent’s equaliser.The Un...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Jota has a chance of starting against Bayern Munich after scoring and impressing in a 3-0 victory over Dundee United.Jota earned the club’s man-of-the-match award after cutting in from the left and curling home from 18 yards to double the lead given to the hosts by another impressive finish from Callum McGregor.The Portuguese winger has now started two gam...
