Salford problems will not be sorted overnight, says Alexander



Posted Sunday, September 29, 2019 by PA

Salford problems will not be sorted overnight, says Alexander

Salford manager Graeme Alexander said it will take “several weeks” to turn the club’s season around following a 4-0 home defeat to Forest Green.

The Ammies went down 4-1 last week at Crewe and conceded the same amount on Saturday against high-flying Rovers.

Matty Stevens scored in the third minute, before Aaron Collins and Ebou Adams made it three by the 31st.

Stevens added a fourth just before the hour mark for Mark Cooper’s side, who moved up to fourth in Sky Bet League Two.

Alexander said: “We have a vulnerability about us at the moment.

“If we don’t concede we are good team, but when we do, that goes out of the window and we take a step back. It is costing us dearly.

“We had three or four opportunities to make a challenge with the first goal, but we didn’t and made it far too easy for the other side.

“This isn’t going to be sorted overnight – it will take several weeks and a lot of work will have to go into making the players believe that they can compete at this level.

“I couldn’t blame the fans who left before the end because they are the paying customers and they want to see us scrap for every challenge, which we didn’t do in the first half.”

Stevens delivered the first blow to Salford when he placed the ball in the top corner after meeting a Joseph Mills cross to score his first goal for the club since joining from Peterborough in the summer.

Fellow close-season buy Aaron Collins doubled Rovers’ advantage after 16 minutes, the Welsh forward pouncing on an undercooked back pass from Carl Piergianni.

And the home side’s awful defending continued when Ebou Adams made it three just after the half-hour mark.

The Gambia international picked up a through ball from Jack Aitchison and launched a thunderbolt from the edge of the area into the bottom corner.

Salford upped the ante a little in the opening stages of the second half, with Adams’ international team mate Ibou Touray twice going close.

But their backline frailties came to the fore once again in the 59th minute when they conceded a fourth.

On-loan Celtic midfielder Jack Aitchison showed off his skills when he slid in Stevens for the striker to finish for his second goal of the afternoon.

Salford defender Cameron Burgess then had a goal ruled out for a foul in the build-up but, by then, it was far too little, too late for his team, who slipped to 18th in the table.

Forest Green manager Mark Cooper said: “I am delighted – we were outstanding.

“We looked organised and the boys stuck to the framework we laid out for them.

“I was surprised that the Salford fans didn’t turn on their team – our boys were saying that, too.

“We are only 11 games in and we have 21 points, so hopefully there will be a lot more points to come.”

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