Ethan Galbraith scored the game’s only goal as Salford claimed their first victory over Northampton with a 1-0 win at Sixfields.

Salford’s third successive away triumph came courtesy of Galbraith’s crisp finish late in the first half as they moved within two points of the League Two automatic-promotion places.

The opening 25 minutes were cagey and lacked any sort of goalmouth action before things warmed up.

Visiting goalkeeper Tom King was twice called into action in a matter of minutes either side of the half-hour mark, reacting smartly from Kieron Bowie and doing likewise to deny Sam Hoskins.

King also tipped over Sam Sherring’s back-post effort, but Salford scored against the run of play in first half stoppage time when Ibou Touray’s cutback was side-footed into the bottom corner by Galbraith.

Bowie curled a fine effort just wide moments after the restart, but Northampton struggled to turn their dominance of possession into clear-cut chances throughout the second half and succumbed to their second 1-0 defeat in the space of four days.