Gary Neville and David Beckham endured a disappointing afternoon at Wembley as Salford City were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Notts County in the League Two play-off final. The defeat means the Class of 92-owned club will spend an eighth consecutive season in the fourth tier.
Match Summary
Notts County, who finished one place below Salford in the regular season, took control of the match just after the half-hour mark when Alassana Jatta scored the opener. Lucas Ness doubled the lead just before halftime with a header, and Jodi Jones sealed the victory with a third goal 20 minutes from time.
Salford turned to experienced striker Fabio Borini, who had previously won promotion via the play-offs with Swansea City, but the Italian could not inspire a comeback.
Co-Owners in Attendance
Co-owners Gary Neville and David Beckham were among the former Manchester United stars present at the national stadium. Neville was seated alongside Lioness Jill Scott, while Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt also watched on. Beckham was dressed smartly in the stands as temperatures at pitch level reached nearly 37 degrees Celsius.
Neville, who has been the driving force behind Salford's rise up the football pyramid, admitted he did not break his pre-match routine by speaking to the players or manager Karl Robinson. "I haven't spoken to any of the players," he said. "I don't before any game so it would be wrong of me to do so today. I don't speak to Karl either. It would be wrong for me to break the routine just because it's a special day."
Looking Ahead
Salford missed out on automatic promotion by just one point and will now face another year in League Two. Manager Karl Robinson, who has previous Football League promotions on his CV, will need to regroup and plan for the next campaign. Neville recently increased his stake in the club alongside Beckham, but the duo will have to go back to the drawing board after this setback.
