Peter Cklamovski was full of praise for his Salford players despite their narrow 4-3 penalty shoot-out loss to Shrewsbury in the Carabao Cup first round.
Shrewsbury took the lead three minutes after half-time when Josh Davison capitalised on slack defending to fire home.
After Salop defender Sam Stubbs had been shown a second yellow card for a foul on Ryan Graydon, the Ammies drew level through Kyrell Malcolm’s 77th-minute equaliser before Will Aimson saw red for Salford.
Salford goalkeeper Will Norris and Shrewsbury shot-stopper Will Brook then starred in a remarkable penalty shoot-out that saw nine spot-kicks missed.
It was won by Arkell Jude-Boyd, who rifled the ball into the top corner from 12 yards after Ollie Turton’s spot-kick cannoned off a post.
After the helter-skelter match, Cklamovski downplayed the effect defeat in the first competitive game of the season will have on his squad.
“The goal we conceded was a soft one to give away, but mistakes happen, and we responded as a team in a really powerful way,” he said.
“We could have won that game a couple of times in the second half and I’m so proud of the way the boys pushed until the end.
“Both keepers made four saves each, so fair play to them. That is the cut-throat reality of penalty shoot-outs.
“We will reflect on it, take the hurt, take it as medicine and keep building our football from there.”
Cklamovski has been the architect of an ambitious and eye-catching Salford transfer window during which the club have tempted highly rated players down the football pyramid in a bid to boost their promotion hopes.
Luke Molyneux, who registered 15 goal contributions for League One Doncaster Rovers last season, started upfront with ex-Millwall forward Macaulay Langstaff against Shrewsbury.
The 28-year-old went close to opening his account for the club in the first minute when his powerful volley forced Shrewsbury goalkeeper Will Brook into a smart diving save.
Kelly N’mai missed a golden opportunity to score the Ammies’ first competitive goal under new boss Peter Cklamovski, striking tamely at Will Brook in the 16th minute.
But that early impetus faded as the half wore on, with Shrewsbury’s Tom Sang bending a curling shot narrowly wide from the corner of the box before centre-back Sam Stubbs sliced a wayward volley off target as Shrewsbury threatened to take the lead on the half hour.
“It was fair for the score to be 0-0 at half-time,” said Cklamovski after the match. “We showed the lads a couple of things on the video at half-time just to say take advantage of moments that we get into some good areas.”
His side ramped up the pressure after falling behind to Davison’s opener and were rewarded for their efforts when Malcolm notched his first professional goal.
And the beaming Aussie was delighted to see the 19-year-old find the back of the net.
“I am so proud of him for the effort he’s put in.”
He added: “I’m pleased with the performance, the commitment, how the subs came on and made an impact and finished the game strong. I’m proud of the group and felt like we deserved to win in the end.”
Salford City will travel to Barnet on Saturday for the opening game of their League Two season, 3pm kick-off at the Hive Stadium.
