Substitute Kelly N’mai emerged from the bench to become an unlikely hero as 10-man Salford City salvaged a 1-1 draw at Chesterfield.
Hours before the 20-year-old’s superb cameo rescued a point on the road, N’mai travelled down to Derbyshire as backup, having been omitted from Karl Robinson’s matchday squad.
Drafted in as a replacement for Matty Lund, who withdrew through illness moments before kick-off, it took N’mai seven minutes to find the net summoned off the sidelines as he cancelled out James Berry’s opener.
The youngster’s late equaliser capped an entertaining match which featured chaotic scenes at the SMH Group Stadium. Amid a yellow card frenzy, Curtis Tilt saw red as tempers flared in the second half.
Promoted Chesterfield are aiming to follow in the footsteps of Wrexham by achieving back-to-back promotions from the National League to League One this season. Unbeaten in their opening two matches, the Spireites looked to build on their 5-0 rout of Crewe last weekend.
Salford City are a team in transition. Robinson is yet to land on his preferred starting side and, with new signings expected before the transfer window closes, it may be a while before The Ammies find their attacking stride.
Without a goal in their opening two league matches, Salford looked disjointed in possession throughout a comparatively uneventful first period. Determined to dig in against confident opposition, Robinson’s men sat deep and narrow and looked to exploit a moment of individual quality on the break or a lapse in concentration from the Chesterfield backline.
Against the run of play, through Ben Woodburns’ skill, The Ammies crafted the first notable opening on 28 minutes. The attacking midfielder deftly controlled Tom Edwards’ fizzed ball forwards without breaking stride, charged towards the edge of the box and teed up Connor McAleny, who narrowly struck wide bearing down on goal.
Up the other end of the pitch, Chesterfield winger James Berry was a constant thorn in Edwards’ side, and it required a brilliant, last-ditch block from Stephen Negru to deny Dilan Markandy from six yards after Berry breezed past the fullback and the crossed from the byline.
Level at the break, solid again and a couple of decent openings…
0-0 | #CHFSAL pic.twitter.com/dtb2wTLqj8
— Salford City FC (@SalfordCityFC) August 24, 2024
After a quiet, cleanly contested first half, the game descended into chaos on the hour mark as Armando Dobra clashed with Josh Austerfield over the midfielder’s full-blooded challenge on halfway. Referee Richie Watkins opted to show Austerfield a yellow before he handed cards to Tyrese Fornah and Oliver Banks for their protests.
Salford had aggravated one of the division’s strongest sides who, attacking towards their vocal supporters, began to click into gear and play with increased urgency.
With Chesterfield fans baying for blood and the Spireites players riled up, Salford sank deeper into their own territory and pockets of space began to open up around the edge of the box.
On 69 minutes, the pressure finally told. Star man Berry broke the deadlock with a composed finish, cutting in from the left-hand side to curl home past Jamie Jones.
As Salford threatened to implode, Curtis Tilt received two yellow cards in quick succession, the second following an off-the-ball clash with chief instigator Will Grigg.
Chesterfield conceded 65 goals last season in the National League – more than relegated Kidderminster Harriers – and their defensive vulnerabilities were in full view despite their numerical advantage.
With time running out, Robinson summoned N’mai and 6ft 2in target man Marcus Dackers from the bench to replace Cole Stockton and Edwards, who had been run ragged by Berry all afternoon.
The double substitution proved to be inspired; the pair led the Salford revival from the front, as N’mai stretched the largely untested Chesterfield defence, Dackers was combative in the air and offered an out ball whereby the team could progress past the Spireites midfield and move the ball vertically up the pitch.
In the 86th minute, N’mai received the ball tight to the left-hand touchline, darted inside past two Chesterfield defenders and curled home the equaliser, sending 192 travelling supporters into raptures.
The decision to leave Nami out will not be retaken lightly by Robinson; the youngster harried and chased through eight minutes of added time. Late half-chances fell the way of Dobra and Banks as Chesterfield ramped up the pressure again, but Salford were not to be denied a hard-fought point on their travels.
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