'Well deserved' - Everton prospect rescues late point for Salford at Fleetwood as Karl Robinson hails belief
Karl Robinson praised his persistent Salford side as they rescued a late point in a 2-2 draw at Fleetwood Town in League Two.
Everton loanee Francis Okoronkwo equalised in the 98th minute after goals from Ronan Coughlan and Mark Helm cancelled out Ben Woodburn’s impressive opener.
Robinson said: “We’ve got to make the shirt is something that you fight for, and you don’t want to take it off - you want to be in that team week in and week out. You take it off at the end of the game, could you have done anymore? I don’t think any of my players in the second half had any more left in their legs.”
Woodburn gave the Ammies the lead on 18 minutes when he lobbed David Harrington after Salford won possession deep in Fleetwood’s half. Two close-range finishes from Coughlan and Helm gave Fleetwood the advantage, before Okoronkwo converted from Kelly N'Mai’s cross deep into added time.
After a disappointing start to the season and off-the-field changes, Salford are now unbeaten in their last four and 12th in League Two.
Robinson said: “I want to focus on us, what and who our club wants to be, and build a philosophy that is aggressive and to the point. Then find a fluidity within the play but an aggressiveness on the changeover of possession. It'll take a long time, but we’ve had multiple changes in the football club and hopefully we’ll get better because of the consequences of it.”
Robinson revealed the team was caught in traffic on the way to Fleetwood and arrived 40 minutes behind schedule.
Speaking on Salford City’s YouTube channel, he said: “We managed to find our sea legs and performed wonderfully well second half. We kept believing, we stayed incredibly calm and happy with how the game finished. To get a goal late on was well deserved.”
Salford return to the Peninsula Stadium on Saturday afternoon to host Shrewsbury Town in the first round of the FA Cup. Robinson said: “It’s the FA Cup, it’s brilliant isn’t it and for us, it’s a special moment and we’re looking forward to competing at the weekend.”