By Our Man at the Match
SALFORD City’s modest Peninsula Stadium, usually a beacon of ambition for the “Class of ‘92” owners, became the site of a brutal, nine-goal demolition job last night as Rotherham United ran riot, smashing seven past the hapless Ammies to win 7-2 in the EFL Trophy.
The venue, tucked away on Moor Lane, is known for its intimate, tight atmosphere, but for the sparse crowd of just 519—the kind of attendance you’d expect for a quiet training session, not a cup knockout—it felt more like a public execution.
The Millers turned the home of the League Two side into a shooting gallery, leaving the few hundred brave Salford fans utterly stunned by the savagery of the second-half display.
The hosts, managed by Karl Robinson, started with a glimmer of hope, twice taking the lead in a frantic opening half through Nicolás Siri (8) and Cole Stockton (31). For a few fleeting moments, it looked like the small, buzzing stadium might witness a giant-killing.
But Rotherham refused to be intimidated by the tight confines of the ground.
They responded with cold-blooded efficiency. By the time referee Darren Drysdale blew for the break, the visitors were already ahead 3-2, courtesy of strikes from Josh Ayres, James Clarke, and the first of the night for the Millers’ man of the moment, Josh Benson.
The second half was all about Benson, who secured his hat-trick and sealed the Millers’ ticket to the next round with a performance that will be talked about far beyond the limits of Greater Manchester.
First, the midfielder produced a truly jaw-dropping moment worthy of the biggest theatres in the country. From nearly 45 yards out, Benson spotted keeper Mark Howard off his line and unleashed an audacious, dipping lob that sailed over the helpless stopper and into the net. It was a spectacular, almost Beckham-esque strike that lit up the otherwise dreary, rain-soaked night.
Just two minutes later, Benson completed his hat-trick with a close-range header, making it 5-2.
With the tie long over, substitutes Dan Gore and Dean Gardner rubbed salt into the gaping wound, notching their first senior goals for the club in the dying minutes to seal the shocking 7-2 scoreline.
As the Rotherham players celebrated their progression, the tiny Peninsula Stadium emptied quickly, leaving only the sound of the travelling fans cheering a victory that was less a football match and more a clinical annihilation. For Salford, a night that promised cup glory ended in humiliating defeat on their own turf.
