Neil Wood demands cutting edge from Salford despite win over Harrogate

Posted Wednesday, September 14, 2022 by PA

Salford boss Neil Wood insisted his side need to become more ruthless in front of goal after watching them snatch a late winner at Harrogate.

The Ammies managed 18 shots during an end-to-end League Two contest, but it took them until the 93rd minute to make the all-important breakthrough.

Matty Lund’s header from Elliot Watt’s right-wing free-kick eventually proved sufficient to seal a fifth win in eight league matches this term, though Wood felt his side could have made life easier for themselves.

“I thought that we were really dangerous in the final third, getting in the right positions, the structure was very good, but we just lacked that final bit of quality,” he said.

“It’s frustrating and that’s what we work on every day, to make that better. I don’t know how many attempts we’ve had but every game we are having at least 15 attempts at goal and our productivity rate needs to be much better. We need to be converting that into goals.

“I think we had 68 or 70 per cent possession. We weren’t at our best with the ball, so what it tells me is that there’s a lot of room for improvement. We want to raise the standards each game.”

Yet, although he conceded City’s display was far from a perfect one, Wood insisted his team were still good value for their win.

“I think we deserved it,” he added.

“I thought that first half we were sloppy with our passing and gave them chances but once we played through them, it really opened up.

“It was a case of keeping going and being relentless, putting the pressure on. We kept putting the ball into the right areas.”

Tuesday night’s defeat was Harrogate’s fifth on the spin in all competitions and leaves them winless in their last 10 meetings with Salford.

But manager Simon Weaver said he was still able to take encouragement from what he deemed an improved all-round performance.

“It’s tough to take, however I’d rather lose in this manner than 4-0 like we did to Newport in our last home game,” he said.

“We are disappointed because this game is about results and we had the chances to win the match.

“I feel that the performance was an upgrade. We made a huge stride forwards tonight. Salford knew that they were in a battle and that it could have gone either way.”

On the last-gasp goal which denied his team a share of the spoils, Weaver added: “It’s a great free-kick put into a dangerous area where it is all about who lands there first and, unfortunately for us, it was their player so we have to do better.”