Salford boss Neil Wood felt his side suffered the after-effects of their dramatic midweek Carabao Cup penalty shoot-out victory over Leeds as they lost 1-0 to Morecambe.
Michael Mellon scored the only goal of the game in the 25th minute as Salford struggled to break through a solid defence.
City ended the game with 10 men after Matthew Lund was sent off in added time for needlessly kicking out at Adam Mayor.
The goal came in a flat first half for the Ammies which left Wood with plenty to think about.
He said: “We were poor in the first half but loads better after the break, but it was really hard to break them down which is always hard to do.
“We just lacked the bit of quality we needed where it mattered in the final third.
“The cup run has been great with two hard-fought wins over Preston and Leeds, but we came across a top team in Leeds on Tuesday and that game took its toll today. We were left with a number of injuries and we were missing a number of key players who would probably have started.
“For all the jubilation of going through on Tuesday we were threadbare today. I had four young lads on the bench and it would have been hard to throw them in today.”
Salford started the game on the front foot, with Conor McAleny forcing an early save from Stuart Moore.
But it was the Shrimps who scored the all-important opener when Mellon produced an excellent near-post finish from Mayor’s left-wing cross.
Mellon then teed up Tom Bloxham nicely a few moments later but the striker skied his effort over the bar.
Jordan Slew missed a great late chance to add to the scoreline on 90 minutes before Salford’s frustrations came to the fore with substitute Lund’s dismissal.
Morecambe now have three home wins from four this season and delighted boss Derek Adams said: “We could easily have won the game by four or five goals today on the chances we had and we were just too strong for them. It was a terrific performance from us.
“Some of our football was really good and we got into great positions but just didn’t make the most of them and the fact we didn’t get a second always left them with a chance of getting back in the game because we hadn’t punished them enough.
“At the other end of the field we defended superbly and kept another really good clean sheet and it was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon for the fans.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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