Salford head coach Neil Wood heaped praise on hat-trick hero Matt Smith after he netted all three goals in the 3-0 triumph at Doncaster.
The Ammies made their opportunities count against a Doncaster side who enjoyed the better of the attacking play but could not find the back of the net.
And key to the visitors’ victory was Smith, who scored two trademark headers before completing his hat-trick with a poacher’s finish.
“We know, and we’ve said it all along, if we can provide the right crosses, provide the right opportunities for him, then he will score goals,” Wood said.
“It’s important he’s in the right position in the box to take that, and he did that tonight and I thought we could have had a couple of others.”
Wood was delighted to see plenty of work on the training ground come to fruition in the game as he seeks to get Salford climbing the table.
He said: “Consistency is the hardest thing to find, we’ve had a lot of learning and we learn in good times, we learn in bad times, and to be fair to the lads they’ve took every single bit on that we’ve thrown at them and they’re slowly making improvements.
“It’s nice when we get a win like this we see large elements of the game that are how we want to play, what we should look like, and how we should defend.
“The lads know that in the dressing room, they can give me all the answers of what went well, so that’s the pleasing thing.”
Doncaster manager Grant McCann was torn in his thoughts over the defeat as he praised his side’s build-up play but was left bemoaning a lack of ruthlessness in both boxes.
He said: “It’s an old cliche that matches are won in both boxes and we just weren’t good enough in both.
“We know Matt Smith’s threats. He’s probably one of the best centre-forwards in the division, he’s played at a higher level and we just couldn’t cope with his threat in the air. He could have had four.
“I try to give a fair reflection and it’s probably the best we’ve been between the boxes. Credit where credit is due, I was pleased with the boys and the way they kept going.
“Ultimately it’s your final ball and your edge at the top end of the pitch that wins you games, and so does keeping the ball out of the back of your own net.
“Salford did a job on us. Smith’s gone away with a hat trick. But we’ve put in 44 crosses and how we haven’t scored is very frustrating for me. It’s the difference between winning and losing.”
Columbus Crew v Sporting Kansas City: Vermes looking to improve 'soft' defending
Sporting Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes wants to see a better defensive display when they travel to Columbus Crew in the MLS on Saturday.
Sporting KC sit second from bottom in the Western Conference, having won just three of their 19 games so far.
After back-to-back losses to LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake in which they conceded four goals in both, Vermes admitted they needed to rectify the situation as soon as possible.
"I can't deny the fight of the guys, but defensively, it's too soft," he said. "Unfortunately, it's similar to what happens in a lot of games.
"We can be fighting back in a game and give away a nothing goal. There's a ton of chances that could put us way ahead, but we can't be giving up the goals that we give up. That's it; that's the game."
Columbus, meanwhile, are right in the mix in the Eastern Conference, sitting sixth with 27 points.
A 2-1 defeat to Inter Miami snapped their four-match winning streak in the MLS, but head coach Wilfried Nancy is confident they can quickly put that result behind them.
"It has been good games, good performances," head coach Wilfried Nancy said. "[The last game] was also a good performance, but we were not good at certain moments. This is again something that we did well. We have grown a lot regarding these kinds of games."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Columbus Crew – Cucho Hernandez
Cucho attempted 10 shots in the Crew's defeat to Inter Miami on Wednesday, his third game with at least 10 shots since making his MLS debut in July 2022.
All other players in MLS have three total games with 10+ shots in that time (Raul Ruidiaz, Hany Mukhtar, Julian Carranza, one each).
Sporting Kansas City – William Agada
Agada scored two of Kansas City's three goals on Wednesday, his fifth multi-goal match for Sporting. Only five players have recorded more multi-goal games in the team's history.
MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN
This will be the Crew's first regular-season home match since losing to FC Cincinnati on May 11. Columbus are winless in four straight MLS home matches after winning 12 of their previous 14 home league games.
Kansas City have lost nine of their last 10 regular-season matches (W1), including losing six in a row on the road in league play. This is the first time in the post-shootout era (since 2000) that Sporting have lost nine times in a span of 10 such matches.
However, Kansas City have lost just one of their last 12 matches against Columbus (W7 D4) dating back to October 2012, though three of the last four meetings have ended in draws. This will be the first meeting between the sides in Columbus in one day short of five years (June 23, 2019).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Columbus Crew – 64.2%
Draw – 19.1%
Sporting Kansas City – 16.7%
Page sacked as Wales manager
Wales have sacked manager Rob Page following the country's failure to qualify for Euro 2024.
The 49-year-old was initially given the job on an interim basis in November 2020, taking over from Ryan Giggs, before being appointed permanently in September 2022.
Page took charge of 45 games for the national team, winning 15 of those matches.
He oversaw the team at two major tournaments, reaching the round of 16 at Euro 2020, and led Wales to the World Cup for the first time in 64 years, though they exited in the group stage after earning only one point.
Wales were agonisingly short of qualifying for a third consecutive European Championships, losing on penalties to Poland in their play-off final in March.
Despite being backed by the Football Association of Wales (FAW) following that result, Page then came under heavy criticism following a goalless draw with minnows Gibraltar and a 4-0 thrashing by Slovakia in their June friendlies, leading to his contract being terminated.
Romeu named new head coach of Barcelona Femeni
Barcelona have announced Pere Romeu as their new head coach following Jonatan Giraldez's departure.
Romeu, who was an assistant coach at the club in the last three seasons, has signed a two-year contract until 2026.
The 30-year-old takes over following a successful season for Barcelona in which they won the quadruple, lifting the Champions League, Liga F, Copa de la Reina and the Supercopa de Espana Femenia.
Giraldez had confirmed in December 2023 that he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign, and it was announced in January he would be joining NWSL club Washington Spirit.
"I have been with the team for three seasons, and I know their day-to-day life. I'm 100 per cent ready," Romeu said in his first interview as head coach.
Romeu coached in Barcelona men's youth set-up between 2017 and 2020 before joining Romanian side Viitorul Constanta as an assistant coach before making the move back to Catalonia to join Barcelona Femeni in 2021.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
