Peter Cklamovski sees positives but admits Salford ‘can’t give away goals’
Lee Bonis’ early strike was enough to seal victory for Chesterfield.
Salford boss Peter Cklamovski said there were plenty of positives to take from his side’s narrow 1-0 defeat against Chesterfield.
The Spireites opened the scoring in the second minute when a low Josh Koroma shot was pushed into the path of Lee Bonis, who tapped home from close range.
Salford were second best for large periods but grew into the contest after the break and went close when Ben Woodburn hit the base of a post midway through the second half.
The hosts improved after Cklamovski made five second-half changes and were inches away from an equaliser in added time when Chesterfield midfielder Ryan Stirk headed onto his own post.
After the match, Cklamovski rued a disappointing start but said he was pleased with the way his team grew into the game as it wore on.
He said: “We are all disappointed not to get the result. We learned a simple but harsh lesson: we just can’t give away goals.
“I felt like that giveaway goal early wounded us a little bit for a short period of time in that first half and we lost a bit of confidence because the boys wanted it so much.
“After the emotion of a setback like that, you saw the response in terms of how we grew into the game thereafter, created multiple chances and hit the post twice.
“We have just got to sharpen up the blade, be a bit steelier and not give things away. If we give presents to our opponents, it’s going to make it tough. We need to cut those out to be the team we dream of being.
“I think that’s fantastic that there’s expectation on us. To do something special, you need to be sharper and smarter in games to win matches too.”
Chesterfield assistant coach Danny Webb hailed The Spireites’ battling win on the back of their disappointing 1-0 defeat to Fleetwood in their opening game.
He said: “After the first game of the season we felt very low, but I think it was good today.
“I thought we started the game really well. I thought all the players, the goalie, defenders, midfielders and flair players did what was asked of them.
“It’s not just a victory, but a clean sheet one. If we’d won 2-1 it would have been great, but it is especially nice to get the clean sheet. We deserved it.
“I think over the years, there’s always been good games against other teams at the right end of the league. We played to our peak.”