Sir David Beckham and Gary Neville left heartbroken as big day ruined | Football | Sport

Sir David Beckham and Gary Neville could only watch on in horror as Salford City were beaten by Notts County in the Sky Bet League Two play-off final. After being taken over by ‘Class of 92’ in 2014, Ammies won four promotions in five seasons, but they will remain in League Two next season.

Manchester United greats Beckham and Gary Neville were part of a new consortium that completed a takeover at Salford just over 12 months ago, when Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Phil Neville sold their shares.

But they were powerless watching on from the Wembley stands as Martin Paterson’s side secured promotion to the third-tier.

Alassana Jatta opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark before Lucas Ness made it 2-0 just before the break. Jodi Jones then put the icing on the cake for the Magpies when he scored a third 20 minutes from normal time.

The result brings to an end a disappointing campaign for Salford, who blew the chance to secure automatic promotion on the final day of the season.

After Cambridge United had been held by Crewe Alexandra, if Salford had managed to beat Crawley Town, then they would have finished third and secured their place in League One, but just like the U’s, they were held to a goalless draw.

Salford’s previous closest run at promotion to League One came three years ago when they were knocked out of the play-offs at the semi-final stage by Stockport County.

And speaking before this afternoon’s game, Ammies boss Karl Robinson admitted: “It is the biggest game in the club’s history. We appreciate that and the narrative around that is incredibly important, but Salford as a city is really unique.

“They stay true to their values and what we’ve tried to find is a consistency to our team and how we conduct ourselves. That generally stands you in good stead. This is a magical place, but it can be the darkest place if it doesn’t go for you.”