Salford City will take on Manchester City in the FA Cup fourth round after a historic 3-2 win against Swindon Town.
Captain Luke Garbutt was the hero for the Ammies on the night, scoring a superb second-half free-kick to book the club’s place in the FA Cup fourth round for the first time.
Salford started the game on the front foot and were looking to cause problems on each attack. January signing Ryan Graydon threw himself at the end of a loose ball but collided with a Swindon player before getting a shot off.
It wasn’t long before the deadlock was broken. Defender Kevin Berkoe curled a ball deep into the Swindon box, which sailed over the heads of Swindon defenders and directly into the path of Graydon, who headed over the keeper and into the back of the net to put Salford in front after 11 minutes.
It took a while for the visitors to get into this game. Michael Olakigbe came close to converting a chance, but the Nigerian failed to meet the ball correctly.
But the Robins were growing in confidence as the half progressed and went close to drawing level when Gavin Kilkenny struck a fierce drive into the side netting.
Midfielder Darren Oldaker had a powerful attempt saved in first-half stoppage time as Ian Holloway’s side went into the break on top, but a goal behind.
As the players returned from the tunnel, the visitors were looking to keep their momentum, but it was immediately disrupted as Salford added a second.
Swindon were denied a penalty, leaving the travelling supporters furious, adamant their side should’ve had a spot kick.
But before the referee had any time to further analyse the decision, Salford already had the ball sent long upfield. Kelly N’mai trapped the ball from the sky and charged towards the goal with Graydon to his side. N’mai elected to take out the lone Swindon defender by passing to Graydon.
The striker, full of confidence, fired the ball beneath the keeper, doubling Salford’s lead after 55 minutes.
This seemed to fire Swindon up, as they didn’t want to head down the M6 out of the cup. Olakigbe finally found his feet in the game as he sent a ball into the Salford penalty area. The ball took a slight deflection, setting up Ollie Palmer on a plate. The veteran was never in doubt as he headed the visitors back into the match.
Just a few minutes later, Swindon were level as substitute James Bell emerged from the carnage of a packed box to fire a low drive past the herd of bodies and into the goal.
Salford’s lead had evaporated, but karl Robinson’s side remained calm and regained a foothold in the contest. Against the run of play, they went ahead again when dead-ball expert Luke Garbutt fired home a breathtaking free-kick.
The Salford captain struck the ball with power. It wrapped perfectly around the wall and onto the keeper’s right. Connor Ripley failed to get a glove in time for the ball to rifle into the back of the net, restoring Salford’s lead after 68 minutes.
Salford resorted to defending in numbers and looking to play on the break as they protected their lead with time running out.
N’Mai danced past a few players but was denied by Ripley as Robinson’s men went close to restoring their two-goal cushion with eleven minutes left on the clock.
But, Swindon thought they had snatched a late leveller when Ryan Tafazolli bundled home late on, only for his effort to be ruled out for a foul by Palmer on Matt Butcher in the build-up.
Salford survived a late Swindon onslaught through four minutes of added time before referee Alex Chilowicz called an end to the match, confirming Salford’s progression to the fourth round of the FA Cup, where they will face Manchester City away.
