Salford home preview

[Sweden Stag]

After the frustrating away defeat at Walsall last Saturday and the failure of sides around the Stags to capitalize last Tuesday night, the Stags now are at home with Salford as the opponents.

And since Salford’s 5-2 away victory at One Call Stadium a year ago, no side has managed more than two goals against the Stags in League fixtures.

Last season, the sides clashed at Salford on the opening day. Now, the Stags seek revenge for that opening day defeat at Salford, played on the earliest-ever Stags opening day of any EFL season since 1931-32. On July 30, 2022, the Stags lost 2-0 at Salford.

And at One Call, Salford proved why they were last season’s highest League Two away scorers by winning to a 5-2 scoreline, and overall, Salford hit 44 away goals, winning twelve, drawing four, losing seven, exactly the same number of away wins, draws and defeats as the Stags had last campaign in which both sides were challenging the playoffs. In the end, Salford sneaked the final playoff place by conceding one goal less than the Stags, 54 for Salford, 55 for Stags, but netted 72 times apiece.

This is also Salford’s fifth consecutive League Two campaign. This season, Salford have blown hot and cold, relying heavily on Matt Smith scoring. He scored against the Stags earlier this season when the Stags broke the Salford away hoodoo by winning to a 2-1 scoreline. Smith has now netted a dozen League Two goals and is so far second in the League Two goalscoring chart on 21 goals, one less than Longstaff for Notts County, while Davis Keillor-Dunn has hit 16 league goals for the Stags.

Since the game at Salford last November, Salford have changed their manager. Out went Neil Wood, in came Karl Robinson. Since his appointment, Salford haven’t lost in League and have beaten sides around us in the progress (Crewe away, Wrexham and Barrow at home). And goals have been flying in left right and centre at both ends in recent Salford games, the latest 5-3 at home to Barrow. Robinson is so far unbeaten as Salford boss, four wins and four draws and the Salford games under Robinson have seen in total a number of 30 goals.

But just a few seasons ago, Salford City played in the Northern Premier League, finishing third there as late as in the 2015-16 season, eventually winning the playoff final against former League side Workington after winning the NPL Division One North the previous campaign.

Well in their first Conf North campaign in 2016-17 (after having kayoed Notts County and earned a replay against Hartlepool in the FA cup in 2015-16), Salford finished fourth but lost the playoff semifinal to FC Halifax Town. In the 2017-18 campaign, Salford were crowned Conf North Champions six points ahead of Harrogate Town. In that campaign, Salford faced ex-league clubs like Boston, Kidderminster, York City, Darlington, Southport and Stockport. Bradford PA might have been added, but the current Bradford PA club is a successor to the one who were voted out in favour of Cambridge United way back in 1970 and that Bradford club did only face the Stags on nine occasions in League history.

In the National League, Salford finished in third position after winning nine out of their final twelve fixtures. And in the playoffs, they first beat Eastleigh on penalties, the went on to beat AFC Fylde to a 3-0 scoreline in the final to became the first side to go from National League North to League Two in consecutive seasons. Incredibly enough, Salford’s first-ever National League fixture was against Leyton Orient, a 1-1 home draw. But that was not the first time the promoted sides to be faced each other on a Conf National opening day as the Stags faced Newport at home on the opening day of the 2012-13 seasons.

Even in the last few seasons, three players with previous Stags experience have played for Salford. The first one was Simon Grand, who played a handful Stags fixtures around 2010, then represented Salford in 2016-17. Grand played for Chester in Conf North during the curtailed 2019-20 season.

The second Salford connection needs no introduction. The tale is of Matt Green, who shot the Stags back into the EFL in 2013 by virtue of loads of goals, most notably the injury-time winner at Hereford and the penalty against Wrexham which sealed the return. Add to that, goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup in January 2013 as well. After being released by Lincoln City, Green played 21 games for Salford, six of those as sub, and netted four times.

The third connection played for Salford 25 times in their inaugural EFL campaign and in the 2021-22 season came on as sub on thirteen occasions, starting once but played for Tranmere Rovers against the Stags in late October 2021 and was later at Grimsby on loan. The tale is of Emmanuel Dieseruvwe. After his loan spell at the Stags late on in the 2015-16 campaign, Dieseruvwe also played for Boston and Kidderminster and is currently playing for Hartlepool after having played for the current Halifax Town club last campaign.

In previous preview history, the Stags have faced Salford four times at headquarters. After having lost the first-ever fixture between the sides to a 2-1 scoreline in October 2019, the Stags won two consecutive games to a 2-1 scoreline, both in the calendar year of 2021 before losing last season. On the road, the Stags faced Salford in their final away game of the 2021-22 season, ending up in a 2-2 draw watched by the previewer on telly over here on May 2, 2022. Also note that our away game at Salford in 2019-20 belonged to the ones not to be played when the 2019-20 League Two campaign was halted.

Previous games, all in League Two:

2019-20 1-2 2019-10-22 (away not played)
2020-21 2-1 2021-01-05 0-2 2021-04-24
2021-22 2-1 2021-12-11 2-2 2022-05-02
2022-23 2-5 2023-02-25 0-2 2022-07-30
2023-24 (at Salford) 2-1 2023-11-11

An interesting game and a good test is on the cards. Come on Mansfield!