A deflected goal from Salford City’s Macauley Langstaff was all that separated the sides on a sunny day at the Peninsula as they beat Fleetwood Town by a goal to nil.
Coming straight out of the gate for the second half, the Ammies took charge of the game as they looked to break the deadlock after what was a poor first 45-minute display from both sides with no real chances.
This result leaves Salford top of League Two for now, with second place Barnet having played two games less.
It was a poor start for Salford as they allowed the Cod Army to control the majority of the ball. Wiredu earned a yellow card within the first five minutes against his former club. Another free kick was given to Fleetwood moments later as the Ammies struggled to earn the ball cleanly in the opening minutes.
Salford got the first best chance of the game against the run of play, as Langstaff was able to break down the left-hand side. His shot could only skip wide of the goal. Minutes later, he got another opportunity with Jay Lynch coming too far out of his own box and was toyed with by Longstaff, who could again only hit the ball into the keeper for a corner.
Peter Cklamovski was forced into making an early change with Woodburn coming off due to injury, being replaced by Ryan Graydon.
The home side appeared to be getting into the game as the 20-minute mark approached, with greater control of the ball. Fleetwood Town were able to match the Salford attack with an equal defence, preventing the Ammies from carving out any real chances.
Will Norris was forced to stop his first shot of the game as Adam Murphy struck the ball from outside the box. Norris was able to dive low to his left and block a strong effort from the Fishermen.
It was nearly early horror for Fleetwood as defender Finley Potter attempted to pass back to his own keeper, but miskicked the ball. A save was forced from Lynch to prevent embarrassment for the visitors.
Neither side was able to carve out any clear-cut chances in the opening 30 minutes, as Salford held more of the ball but couldn’t break through the yellow wall that stood in front of them. Fleetwood were not letting any of Cklamovski’s men feel comfortable.
Kelly Nmai was able to find space in the box to receive the ball in a rare moment of lost focus for Fleetwood, but his shot whistled wide of the post.
Fleetwood were able to reply in kind as Fleetwood found their way into the Salford City box, but were unable to make the most of the opportunity after a misplaced pass put the ball out for a goal kick.
Taylor Allen shot a free kick wide over the goal, a chance that summed up the game to that point as both sides wasted opportunities. There were calls for a penalty on the cusp of 40 minutes as Abraham Odoh went down in the box, but referee Ross Martin judged that no foul had taken place.
The final play of the first half was a Fleetwood Town throw-in near the Salford box from Jake Batty; the Ammies were able to clear it comfortably, though, as the halftime whistle was blown.
Salford City got the second half underway, winning five corners within the first five minutes as they aimed to break the deadlock. They found themselves unable to unsettle the keeper with any of them, though. Fleetwood Town did amazingly well to weather the storm as Salford could simply not place a shot against Jay Lynch.
The Ammies nearly got their moment of rejoicing following an explosive start to the second half as Nmai was able to find space in the box and a deflected effort found the back of the net, but the linesman’s flag was up.
Another string of chances for Salford as a corner into the box was headed multiple times towards goal, The Fishermen were able to scramble their defence into place and prevent Salford from scoring.
After a brilliant game for Macauley Langstaff, he was the one to finally put Salford City ahead with a deflected goal. He found himself just on the inside of the box as his strike deflected off Finley Potter. A long time coming for the Ammies, who had dominated in the second half.
Not to be satisfied, Cklamovski’s men continued to push for another chance, trying to finish the game with twenty minutes to spare; Fleetwood Town, though, were resilient in their defence.
It was chance after chance for Salford after the goal, as they seemed desperate to put the game beyond any doubt, having their strongest spell of the game following the goal. The Cod Army was steadfast in their defending, though, as they refused to be embarrassed by the Ammies.
A small scuffle broke out between players in the 83rd minute, with Ronan Coughlan of Fleetwood being shown a yellow card for his role in it.
Raffaele Cirino tried to save the day for the Fishermen in the final minutes by taking a shot from distance; the ball could only soar over the Salford City goal.
The final action of the game was a Fleetwood Town attack. There were calls for a penalty as Mark Helm went down, but the referee decided to end the contest there.
Salford City are next in action on Tuesday night as they travel to Accrington Stanley for the Football League Trophy
