Hosting the league leaders will always be a tough test for any team, but with Rovers and Salford both still unbeaten in League Two, it was a perfect opportunity to lay down a benchmark for the season to come.
Salford were highly organised and took the early initiative, with wide-men on both flanks causing problems from the off, and after considerable pressure were rewarded with an inevitable opening goal on ten minutes from Brandon Thomas-Asante.
Matters only got worse for Rovers as defensive talisman Tom Anderson went off injured, followed shortly after by Kyle Knoyle before there were 20 minutes on the clock. However, the tactical shift seemed to work in Rovers’ favour, with Ro-Shaun Williams stepping up to give maybe his best performance in the red-and-white to date, reminiscent of the legendary Rob Jones.
Having been outclassed in the early stages, Rovers slowly crept back into the game, finally testing Tom King in the Salford goal several times before Kyle Hurst slotted a short corner in over his head from outside the area to even things up just before half-time.
With both sides upping the momentum after the break, things could easily have gone either way before Hurst sealed his brace just after the hour mark to ultimately settle matters and give Rovers their first back-to-back league wins for almost 18 months. A thrilling encounter through to all seven minutes of injury time, Rovers makeshift defence clung on, although Salford will doubtless remain in contention as the season unfolds.
by Lazarus
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