Salford City boss Neil Wood insisted his side were “the only team that were going to win the game” when their match with Carlisle United was in the balance.

The Ammies were on the receiving end of a 4-1 thrashing by Paul Simpson’s rampant Blues.

But Wood felt his side were in the ascendancy before errors cost his side in the period when United pulled clear.

“Up to 1-1, for me, there was only one team that was going to win the game and that was us,” said Wood.

Salford ended a five-game goal drought but saw their wait since August for another home win go on.

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Carlisle struck first through Kristian Dennis and, after Matt Smith leveller, goals from Callum Guy, Corey Whelan and Dennis emphasised United’s superiority at the Peninsula Stadium.

Former Manchester United under-23s coach Wood praised Carlisle keeper Tomas Holy for a save from Lorent Tolaj at a crucial stage, and felt his side might easily have come out on top.

“I think if I was going to assess the game, we started slowly, and there was a lack of concentration in the first couple of minutes,” he said in a club interview.

“After that we were looking the most dangerous team.

News and Star: Salford boss Neil WoodSalford boss Neil Wood (Image: Richard Parkes)

“We were putting pressure on them, had two or three chances where the goalkeeper made a really good save, and going in at half-time we felt confident.

“We knew if we could get an early goal we were back in it and we were confident we could still win the game.

“We scored a great goal, that was exactly the plan, and although they had a little bit of life after we scored, we were confident we could win the game.

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“There were individual errors for [Carlisle’s] second, the third [was a case of] not marking right at a corner, and by the fourth it’s game over.

“It’s really frustrating and disappointing.”

Wood’s side fell four points behind Carlisle in the mid-season battle for play-off positions, United now occupying sixth position and Salford ninth.

Wood felt his side, who had nearly two-thirds of possession, didn’t get the breaks in the periods when Salford were applying the most pressure.

He added: “We’re due a bit of luck. We don’t want to lose a game, and especially in today’s fashion, but we need to stay confident.”