A comfortable 2-0 victory for Salford City on Tuesday night saw Walsall suffer a second consecutive defeat in League 2.

Goals from Ian Henderson and Jordan Turnbull earned Salford a crucial win on the road in their quest for promotion against a Walsall side without injured key player Rory Holden.

Walsall came into the match 19^th after a disappointing away defeat to Colchester United. Having flirted with the relegation places in recent months, the Saddlers knew that a result against Salford would secure their League 2 status for another season.

Salford, on the other hand, arrived at the Banks’s Stadium looking up at the table rather than down – three points off the play-off positions in 11^th. Although their fortunes have been mixed since their EFL Trophy triumph, new manager Gary Bowyer had only lost one of his first five matches before Tuesday’s encounter.

The first chance of the game fell to the hosts when Josh Gordon’s low strike from outside of the box took a slight deflection and found the gloves of Salford goalkeeper Václav Hladký.

However, it was the Ammies that looked the more dangerous of the two sides in the opening stages of the game. They almost took the lead when Richie Towell was on the end of a cross from the right, but he failed to direct his header on target.

Salford finally broke the deadlock after 19 minutes when Jack Rose’s clearance was charged down by their top goal scorer Henderson and he slotted the loose ball into an empty net. His tenacity and energy merited the goal, which was the 36-year-old’s fifteenth of the season.

Walsall were slow to respond to going a goal down, but Caolan Lavery worked some space in the box and forced a rare save from Hladký.

The visitors were firmly in control of proceedings and could have easily doubled their lead before the break. Henderson posed a constant threat for the Walsall defenders, whilst Towell and winger Ashley Hunter were also lively.

Salford continued where they had left off after half-time. Rose was tested once again by Henderson and Robbie Gotts within the first ten minutes of the restart.

Salford’s dominance was finally rewarded when Jordan Turnbull doubled Salford’s lead on the 57^th minute and was visibly delighted with his first goal in a Salford City shirt. His header found the bottom right-hand corner of the Walsall net after a perfectly weighted cross from Hunter from the left flank.

Clearly unimpressed with his team’s performance, Walsall boss Brian Dutton made four changes with 25 minutes to go, moving from a 3-4-3 to a 4-4-2 formation in a bid to change his side’s fortunes.

Yet, Salford continued to look comfortable and the gulf in league positions was clear to see in the closing moments of the game. Within a couple of minutes of coming on, ex-Burnley midfielder George Boyd almost sealed the victory, but fired his shot just wide of the post.

Salford managed to see the game out with relative ease and claimed a crucial away win to the delight of Bowyer. ‘To come away from home with a clean sheet and winning the game 2-0, we’re absolutely delighted,’ he told Salford’s YouTube channel.

His counterpart Dutton was understandably disappointed with his side’s underwhelming performance. ‘They out-duelled us, beat us up and we showed no character or personality whatsoever,’ said the 36-year-old head coach when speaking to Walsall’s website. ‘That’s why we’re in the situation we’re in where we’ve had to limp over the line to avoid being relegated.’

Salford moved up to ninth with the win, although they remain three points off Newport who occupy the last play-off position. Whilst Walsall are officially safe from relegation, they could beat the unwanted record of their lowest ever finish in 100 years of league football, unless their performances improve in their remaining three matches.

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