Salford City boss Karl Robinson felt his side conceded an “easy goal” as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at high-flying Cambridge United.
Centre-back James Gibbons scored the only goal four minutes after the break as Salford’s impressive four-game winning run came to an underwhelming end in the sunshine at The Abbey Stadium.
Karl Robinson’s men were frustrated for large periods of the contest by League Two’s best defence, with their first notable chance coming after 75 minutes when goalkeeper Jake Eastwood gifted them the ball before recovering to deny Princewill Ehibhatiomhan.
Goalscorer Gibbons missed a golden chance to take the lead after nine minutes when he missed the target after latching onto the end of a deep Kell Watts cross.
Salford goalkeeper Matthew Young held a Mamadou Jobe header and made a superb save to deny Sullay Kaikai as the home side threatened in the first half.
Cambridge finally found the breakthrough on 49 minutes when James Brophy’s free-kick was powered into the far corner by Gibbons.
Salford striker Ryan Graydon was denied by Jake Eastwood when played clean through on goal 11 minutes from time as the away side rallied, but Cambridge held firm to extend the gap between the teams to five points.
After the match, Robinson was left frustrated by “human error” he believed cost his side against their promotion rivals at both ends of the pitch.
He said: “In the first half we kept them really quiet,” he said. “I know the quality they’ve got, I think they know the quality that we’ve got. It was a very even first half. I don’t think anybody twisted in any way.
“We’ve got to deal with (the goal). We have to head the ball, we can’t allow something so simple. It’s a great header and a great ball in, but from our perspective, it’s a silly free-kick to give away, it’s a ridiculously easy header.
“After that, there was only one team that I felt was going to get anything in the game. We looked like a real imposing threat when we made the changes.
“I don’t think it was there to lose it. I think a draw would have been a fair result against a very, very good Cambridge team. When you play in big games, you are always at the mercy of one moment of brilliance or human error.”
Win or lose, we do it together.
Thank you for your backing in Cambridge ❤️ pic.twitter.com/PZLV9XYttO
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) March 21, 2026
The Ammies’ head coach was also disappointed with the decision to award the free-kick, which led to the decisive Gibbons goal.
“It’s a horrific decision that the referee gave, which was not a free-kick. Then one ball in, terrible marking and then they score a goal they should never score”, he added.
“From then on, there was only one team that made one or two opportunities and we didn’t take them. They took their half chance and we didn’t take ours when they came along.”
The defeat at Cambridge saw Salford slip to sixth in League Two, five points above eighth-placed Chesterfield outside of the play-off places.
Karl Robinson will welcome his former side, MK Dons, to the Peninsula Stadium this Saturday, 3pm kick-off.
