Salford boss Neil Wood hailed his side’s defensive strength after his side opened their League Two account with a 2-0 win over recently relegated Forest Green.
Goals from Conor McAleny and Matt Smith were enough for all three points for Wood’s side at a damp Bolt New Lawn.
“I was really pleased with the result and to be able to start with a win. I didn’t think we looked like we’d concede in open play,” said Wood.
“I was really pleased with the defending, but we can improve and get better.
“They came down from the league above and so we knew it would be difficult. It was a good result to start with against a tough team. They’ll be a real test for teams this season.
“What we wanted to do was built on the foundations we laid last season. We’ve started, but there’s a long way to go.”
The hosts should have taken the lead when Tyrese Omotoye headed over, before Matty Stevens connected with a Callum Jones corne, but hit the crossbar.
Callum Hendry came closest for Salford when he met a deep cross from Liam Shephard but Luke Daniels parried wide.
Forest Green also had Kyle McAllister’s long-range effort denied brilliantly by a fine one-handed save by Alex Cairns in the first half.
Salford forward McAleny took full advantage of a corner not dealt with by Forest Green as he fired home right-footed from six yards out.
Hendry passed up a huge opportunity to make it two after Dom Bernard’s clearance could only find the City number nine but experienced forward Smith, an 85th-minute substitute, doubled Salford’s tally late in the day after he nodded home Luke Bolton’s cross.
For the recently appointed David Horseman, it was a tough start to life in League Two with a Forest Green side who have only won once in 2023.
Rovers boss Horseman has taken his first senior role with Rovers and is looking to build on the performance despite the result.
“If that’s a top-seven team and we’re just starting out in our project, we’re not a million miles off,” said Horseman.
“It was a really high-quality game, we more than held our own but to win games we’ve got to show that extra quality and patience around the final third.
“It might take a little bit more time to compete with the top sides but we’ll turn this around, there was enough on show to say that today.”
Fabian aiming for 'historic' Euro 2024 after impressive Spain comeback
Fabian Ruiz wants to "do something historic" for Spain after booking a place in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals with a 4-1 victory over Georgia in Cologne.
La Roja found themselves behind due to Robin Le Normand's 18th-minute own goal, but came from behind to register the biggest win margin from a losing position in the competition’s history.
Rodri got the equaliser in the first half, before Fabian, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo sealed the victory, with an eye-catching quarter-final against Germany next up for Spain.
Fabian praised Spain's spirit to come from behind and is already looking past their last-eight meeting with Germany.
"We played a great second half, the team gave everything on the pitch," Ruiz said.
"Germany? Any opponent is difficult. We know what a great team they are, that they play at home... but we are confident in ourselves, we are very excited, and we want to do something historic for our country."
Williams scored his first European Championships goal for the national team, also getting an assist in a standout performance.
Like Fabian, he has his sights firmly set on the big prize after making it four wins from four in the tournament.
"We are very happy to get through to the quarter-finals, very excited," he said.
"Step-by-step, we have shown that we are a great team and if we continue at this level, we can do great things.
"Their goal was a mistake, it was unintentional, we all cheered [Spain's own goalscorer] Robin [Le Normand] on and, in the end, we are all pleased and happy.
"[Germany will be] very difficult, they're a tough nut to crack, but we have a wonderful, well-structured team and if we play at this level we can win."
Euro 2024 Data Dive: England scrape through after late drama, Spain make statement
It was another dramatic day in the Euro 2024 knockout rounds, as two more teams booked their places in the quarter-finals.
England fought back from the jaws of defeat as they secured an extra-time win over Slovakia to set up a meeting with Switzerland in the last eight.
Meanwhile, Spain broke Georgia hearts with their comeback victory, and will play Germany in an eye-catching last-eight tie.
Here, we round up the best Opta statistics from the second day of the last 16.
England 2-1 Slovakia (aet): Bellingham, Kane prove late heroes
It looked like England were going to make an embarrassing early exit from the tournament, until Jude Bellingham stepped up with a spectacular overhead kick in stoppage time before Harry Kane netted the winner.
Timed at 94 minutes and 34 seconds, Bellingham's goal was the latest ever for England in normal time at the Euros, coming from the Three Lions' first shot on target after a largely toothless performance.
Kane, on his record-breaking 79th competitive appearance for England, got the timing right too, heading home just 50 seconds into extra time for the fastest goal scored in that period in the competition's history.
The England captain has now scored 14 goals at major tournaments (World Cup and Euros), with only four European players netting more than him – Cristiano Ronaldo (22), Miroslav Klose (19), Gerd Muller (18) and Jurgen Klinsmann (16).
It marked the fourth game that England have won from a losing position at the European Championships as well, after losing their first six such matches.
Only France (five) have ever won more matches when conceding first in the competition, and that late, late show left Slovakia stunned after being just moments from a famous victory in Gelsenkirchen.
Ivan Schranz's third goal at this Euros seemed set to take the headlines, with only Robert Vittek (four) at the 2010 World Cup ever scoring more at a single major tournament for Slovakia, but the forward will not get a chance to equal that record.
Spain 4-1 Georgia: La Roja march on with comeback win
Spain are the only team in the tournament to win all of their games so far, and survived an early scare to come out on top in Cologne thanks to second-half goals from Fabian Ruiz, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo.
Robin Le Normand's 18th-minute own goal saw Luis de la Fuente's side concede for the first time at Euro 2024, only for Spain to rally to the biggest margin of victory by a team that conceded first in the competition.
Spain amassed 17 shots on goal in the first half but only Rodri's first major tournament goal hit the net. It is the most on record (since 1980) by a team in the opening half of a European Championship knockout game.
Indeed, La Roja's 35 shots overall were their most in a single match at either the World Cup (since 1966) or the Euros.
It was the youngsters who stole the spotlight once more as Lamine Yamal got his second assist at the Euros, with Cristiano Ronaldo the last teenager to tee up multiple goals at a single edition (Euro 2004 when he helped Portugal reach the final).
Williams, meanwhile, became the first player on record at the European Championships (since 1980) to score a goal, assist another and complete 100% of his passes (46/46) in a game he started.
Georgia's fairytale was ended by a familiar, formidable foe as they have now lost all seven of their competitive meetings with Spain, conceding 23 goals and netting just four of their own.
Mbappe expecting broken nose to act as 'target' for Belgium at Euro 2024
Kylian Mbappe expects his broken nose to make him a "target" for Belgium at Euro 2024 on Monday.
France meet the Red Devils in Dusseldorf for their last-16 meeting, with Mbappe still not fully recovered from a nose injury sustained against Austria.
The Real Madrid-bound forward subsequently missed the Group D draw with the Netherlands before returning – armed with a new face mask – to score from the penalty spot against Poland.
Mbappe acknowledged his facial injury and subsequent protection makes him likely to face physical challenges in the knockout stages.
"I think that if you're playing with a broken nose and you haven't had your nose operated yet, you're a target," Mbappe told a pre-match press conference on Sunday.
"I knew what I was signing up for when I decided that I wasn't going to go home and that I wasn't going to get the operation done and that I was going to play.
"And maybe I'll get muscled a little bit and it might hurt. But I'm ready to give everything I can for this jersey and to help France go as far as possible.
"If this means that someone's going to hit my nose, so be it. It's already broken."
Mbappe's injury came from a clash in the Austria area as France scraped past Ralf Rangnick's side with a 1-0 win in their opener – Les Bleus' only victory so far at this Euros.
The France captain was left concerned whether he would feature again in Germany after the incident.
"When I got the blow to the face, I didn't really understand what was going on," Mbappe added. "I didn't feel that my nose was broken.
"It was when I looked at the goalkeeper and I saw his face and I thought 'something's wrong here'.
"When I got back to the dressing room, with everything that was happening around me, I thought that I was going home.
"Initially, it was difficult for me because there was a lot of information, lots of appointments, I didn't really sleep that much. I spent two nights without sleeping.
"And it was really difficult to sit on the bench against the Netherlands knowing that you're incapable of helping. I felt quite helpless. But, thankfully, I was able to play against Poland."
As for the face mask, Mbappe is still getting to grips with the protection ahead of the meeting with Belgium.
"Actually it's awful, horrible playing with a mask," he added. "I keep changing masks because every time there's something that bothers me, there's something that's not quite right.
"It's quite difficult to play with a mask because it limits your field of vision, your sweat clogs up. The first few days I felt like I was wearing 3D glasses.
"As soon as I can get rid of that mask, I will. But now I don't have a choice. I can't play without it. I hate it. It's really annoying and I've changed it more than five times.
"But I'm not making excuses because this is the only way I can play."
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