Salford City pair Alex Bruce and Luke Garbutt have been charged by the FA following their actions against Cheltenham Town last Saturday.
Leading the Robins by a goal to nil, the defender was dismissed early in the second period. Salford went on to lose the game 3-2.
What Happened?
Just three minutes after half-time, Garbutt was adjudged to have pulled down Jake Bickerstaff inside the penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick for the home side. The Ammies’ skipper was also sent off for the foul, a decision which he heavily protested. That resulted in the first of the FA charges for failing to leave the pitch promptly.
Nevertheless, Salford stunned the hosts by leading for the second time at the EV Charger Points Stadium, with Zach Awe scoring on his full debut for the visitors. But the 10-men of Salford couldn’t hold on, with youngster Harry Ashfield equalising before George Miller popped up with a winner six minutes into second-half injury-time.
That left Salford incensed, as the Ammies’ assistant manager and Garbutt confronted the match officials following the full-time whistle. Both men have been charged with using foul and/or abusive language/behaviour towards a match official, and have been given until Monday to respond.
What Has Gone Wrong At Salford?
For the second time in as many seasons, an FA Cup defeat to Manchester City looks to have derailed Salford’s season. The Ammies arrived at the Etihad Stadium last season on the back of six successive League Two victories, but were thrashed 8-0 by the Premier League giants. And their league form took a huge hit following that mauling, winning just one of their next 12 matches to drop from the automatic promotion places down to 11th.
While a run of just one defeat in their final 10 matches helped steer their form around, Salford ultimately missed out on finishing inside the play-off places. This season, Karl Robinson’s side reached the 4th round of the competition for the first time in their history, only to come up against the Citizens once more.
While the outcome was the same, the manner was far more respectable, with City needing a late Marc Guehi goal to seal a nervy 2-0 win. And yet, Salford have lost all three fourth-tier fixtures since, falling out of the play-off places. They have fallen to five successive losses in February, with one final chance to record a positive result against Colchester United on Saturday afternoon.
With a packed March schedule featuring seven matches, it is imperative that Salford turn around their fortunes sooner rather than later. Otherwise, another disappointing second half of the season awaits.