Salford fans put smile on boss Gary Bowyer’s face despite Stevenage defeat

Posted Sunday, May 08, 2022 by PA

Manager Gary Bowyer admitted that the Salford fans put a smile on his face despite being disappointed with the result in a 4-2 League Two defeat against Stevenage.

The Ammies went ahead in the 14th minute through Liam Shephard, though Stevenage were in front before half-time after a double from Jamie Reid.

Luke Norris made it 3-1 before Corrie Ndaba grabbed Salford’s second, but Elliott List made the score 4-2 with 10 minutes remaining.

The result did not seem to bother Salford’s travelling supporters, who were dressed entirely in fancy dress to celebrate the end of the season.

“My favourite costume today would have been Zippy out of Rainbow, the yellow one,” said Bowyer.

“The supporters were magnificent from start to finish with their fancy dress, the effort they made, it puts a smile on your face that.

“We spoke about it pre-match, wanting to put an even bigger smile on their face. The least we could do is go over and have our pictures taken with them.

“The effort that they’ve made all season for me personally and the team has been terrific, but we are obviously disappointed with the outcome of today’s game.

“There is a good core group, there are people out of contract and there are some that we want to keep but others we don’t want to keep.

“It is about getting the right type of player in the building and then we can kick on.”

The result at the Lamex Stadium means Stevenage end their campaign in 21st, nine points clear of the relegation zone, while Salford are in 10th.

Stevenage coach Paul Raynor admitted that, with League Two football guaranteed next season, he wanted to see The Boro put on a show.

He said: “We made a point yesterday of telling the team how important this game was.

“We wanted to finish the season with the job done in terms of staying in the division, but we felt as if we dropped off the pace these last couple of games.

“We have lacked a little bit of intensity, so we showed the guys the videos of how hard they worked in those games where we really needed to get points.

“And we did that today against a very good team and – as I say – I think we ran out worthy winners even if it was end to end at times.

“It’s about putting a squad together to challenge at the top end of the table and not the bottom next year so that is the plan.

“I did briefly look over at the Salford fans and see a snowman which was good, they created a good atmosphere and they are a good team with some good players.”