Salford City 0-2 Chesterfield: Spireites stun Ammies to reach FA Cup round three

Chesterfield boss James Rowe said his team were building "something special" this season after they dumped League Two side Salford out of the FA Cup at the Peninsula Stadium.

Liam Mandeville's stunning strike and a late Jim Kellermann effort gave the National League leaders a place in Monday's third-round draw despite having 11 players unavailable.

Mandeville arrowed an effort in off the underside of the bar in the 28th minute after a deft touch from Kellermann, and sealed a deserved success when the latter rifled into the roof of the net from a tight angle.

"Sometimes in a cup tie, it's just the will to win. How much do you want it? And I think we wanted it more," Rowe told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"We had to sacrifice the ball a little bit, not because we think we're inferior technically - of the 11 players that were out there, most of them are technical players - but because we respected the opponent.

"We conceded a bit of space but our confrontation line when they came into certain areas was magnificent."

The Spireites started well as Luke Croll's header was palmed away by Tom King, but Salford then had their best chance when a Josh Morris free-kick was spilled by Scott Loach and the visitors had to scramble clear.

After Mandeville's stunner, Matty Lund strode through just before the break but his shot from the edge of the box was comfortably saved.

"We were a little bit loose in the first half on a couple of occasions but settled down at half-time and refocused. We were spot-on in the second half really, I don't think Scott had a lot to do in the second half so that's credit to our energy," said Rowe.

"They are the highest crossers in League Two, that tells you where most of their threat comes from. We tried to minimise that - I think we did restrict crosses into our box, but certainly when they came in we were strong and particularly Jamie (Grimes) in the middle."

From the restart, the Ammies were almost level with Ash Eastham inches away from sliding in at the far post.

But Chesterfield's energy stifled Salford in midfield and, despite a triple substitution and late onslaught, it was the visitors who struck again as Kellermann squeezed the ball past King to seal victory.

"Any team in the world if you have 11 out, your backs are against the wall and the way we've come together in the last three weeks and still picked up points to maintain first position (in the league) and then to come to a team that's in form in League Two (and won) shows we've got something special here, we want to keep hold of that and move forward," added Rowe.

"We can't take our foot off the gas now, we need to push down and work even harder to get to what we want to at the end of the season.

"We want to win every time we go on the pitch, no matter what competition. I trust whoever puts the shirt on but if you haven't got your mainstays in the group and you're still picking up results it serves well for the future."

Match details supplied by PA Media.