Peter Cklamovski frustrated with Salford’s ‘disjointed first half’

Salford boss Peter Cklamovski was frustrated by his Sky Bet League Two leaders’ first-half performance after they were held to a 1-1 home draw by struggling Northampton.

The Australian coach watched his side fall behind in just the second minute when centre-back Elliott Moore powered a fierce shot into the top right corner.

Ross Fitzsimons touched a looping Adebola Oluwo header as Salford threatened a first-half equaliser.

However, the Ammies had to wait until the 64th minute for their leveller, which came when midfielder Kallum Cesay guided Daniel Udoh’s low centre into the bottom corner.

Cesay’s point-saving finish ensured Salford extended their League Two unbeaten run to 12 games, but Cklamovski admitted the first 45 minutes let his side down.

He said: “The first half was a disjointed first half from our perspective.

“We fell away with a couple of the principles of our game with the ball in the first half, which helped the opponent.

“We were a little bit disoriented from that. But then in the second half, we got a bit of momentum.

“It was one of those games where you might have had that winning goal.

“We gave them a jump start. That means we’re climbing a mountain to get back in the game and it suits them because they have come here to steal points from us.

“In the second half, with the rhythm, momentum and tempo of our game. We opened up some spaces and started to take advantage of that – it would have been good to do that in the first half.

“We want to win every game, and that’s easy said and hard to do. So it’s disappointing how we conceded the first goal off a set-piece early in the game.”

Northampton manager Chris Hogg was delighted by his team’s performance against the league leaders, but felt they could have left the AIG stadium with more than a solitary point.

He said: “I think it was a good challenge for us to come here with their form and the type of season they are having.

“I’m really pleased with a lot of the performance, but I am really disappointed for the players, with the effort they put in and to come out with only a point.

“Before the game, it would have been a great point coming away.

“When you reflect on the game and look at the level of commitment, some of the actions we had in the game, some of the control at times, some of the defending, some of the attacking we did and some of the problems we faced, I thought for the large majority of the game we were a better team.

“I think the expectation is they’re going to come and wipe the floor with us. We showed today, even against Salford, we can stand up and be as good as a lot of teams in the league.

“The next step is to turn these performances into winning performances.”