Salford City suffered a crushing defeat in the League Two play-off final, but remained in the fourth tier for an extended period under the watchful eye of co-owners Gary Neville and David Beckham.
Gary Neville saw Salford fail in their latest promotion bid (Image: John Walton/PA Wire)
Gary Neville and Salford City will have to accept another year in League Two after losing the play-off final at Wembley.
The Ammies had the best chance of securing promotion to the Third Division, but suffered a heavy defeat to Notts County, who finished one place below them in the league table. Salford themselves missed out on automatic promotion by just one point.
Alassana Jatta opened the scoring for Notts County after the half-hour mark, and the Nottingham side doubled their lead when Lucas Ness nodded home just before the half-time whistle. Jody Jones scored Notts County’s third goal with 20 minutes left and 30 minutes to go, sealing their second play-off success at Wembley in the last three years.
Salford turned to Fabio Borini in an attempt to save the match. The Italian had previously secured promotion to the play-offs at Wembley during his time at Swansea, but was unable to bring further success.
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Neville was a key figure in Salford’s rise and even appeared at Wembley. He recently acquired further club rights alongside David Beckham, but the former Manchester United pair will have to go back to the drawing board. Salford will aim to reach new heights next year as they enter their eighth season in League Two.
Beckham wore formal attire in the stands as the match was played in scorching heat, with pitch-level temperatures reaching nearly 37 degrees at one point. Neville, who was sitting alongside Lionesses Jill Scott, looked dejected as the match progressed. Fellow United players Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt were also in attendance.
David Beckham also watched on as Notts County cruised to victory (Image: James Marsh/Shutterstock)
Karl Robinson, who has promotion to the Football League on his CV, is the latest man to try to lift Salford into League One, but ultimately fell short.
Neville admitted he did not speak to any players or managers before kick-off as he did not want to disrupt his usual routine. “I haven’t talked to any of the players,” he said. “I don’t do anything before games, so I think it’s wrong to do that today. I don’t even talk to Karl (Robinson). It’s wrong to break your routine just because it’s a special day.”
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