Karl Robinson believes Salford completely deserved victory at Notts County

Karl Robinson felt Salford were full value for their 2-1 League Two win at Notts County and dismissed talk of his side wasting time.

Goals in either half from Adebola Oluwo and Kelly N’Mai proved enough to withstand a late County rally, which saw substitute Jayden Luker pull one back.

The Meadow Lane faithful felt referee Aaron Bannister had been guilty of letting the visitors waste time, especially goalkeeper Matthew Young.

City head coach Robinson, who had a number of players on the bench who were not fully fit, insisted there was a huge difference between time management and time wasting.

He said: “One hundred per cent. One of the hardest things to do is to get control of the clock – we don’t have the divine right to do that.

“At no stage did we cheat. At no stage did we time-waste. Youngy went down with a tight calf and it was not against the regulations or the rules. We haven’t cheated today.

“I had to make sure that instead of a 90-minute game it was a 55/60-minute game in terms of the ball in play just because I knew where my players’ fatigue levels were going to be.

“County fans can say whatever they need to say but we were the better team for large periods – 75-80  per cent of the game – and for us to still be a work in progress it’s exciting.

“When we had the ball in play it was pretty. I thought we played some wonderful football.”

Magpies boss Martin Paterson made no attempt to blame Salford for time-wasting, especially as both of their goals had been preventable.

Oluwo was allowed a free header from a corner while N’Mai profited from a disastrous attempt to play out from the back.

He said: “I watched the same game as the supporters and there will be frustration with that but my frustration lies with our performance.

“I won’t comment on referees – let’s not divert anything or look for excuses to soften the blow.

“If you shoot yourself in the foot and are an architect of your own downfall it is very hard to beat teams.

“The supporters backed us and we had small positives in the second half but I find it hard to use that as a way out.

“We know the next time we come to Meadow Lane the levels have got to ramp up massively. We need to work.

“We didn’t do certain basics as a group. Our first-half performance was not anything close to what we want.”

Luker, on loan from Luton, made it 2-1 in the 71st minute with a calm close-range finish.

“Second half I was aggressive in terms of the substitutions and I got a small reaction,” Paterson added.