Salford City are brimming with confidence heading into their League Two play-off semi-final second leg against Grimsby Town—and they have every reason to be. Defender Haji Mnoga has made it clear that the team's formidable home record is fueling their belief that they can punch their ticket to Wembley.

Finishing the regular season with the third-best home record in the league, Salford already hold a 2-1 advantage from the first leg. Now, they return to the Peninsula Stadium on Friday, where they've been nearly unbeatable. Mnoga, a Tanzania international, didn't mince words when discussing the edge this gives them.

"When you have records like that, you feel very confident," Mnoga told BBC Radio Manchester. "The fans have been brilliant at home—they've got behind us and helped us out a lot. That's been a massive part of it. When everyone is trying to make it feel like a fortress—the players, the fans, the staff, everyone involved—it really helps."

The momentum is undeniable. Salford have won their last seven home games, keeping five clean sheets in that stretch. A sixth shutout would be enough to secure victory over the two legs and send them to the play-off final. But Mnoga is keeping his feet on the ground, knowing the job isn't done yet.

"The gaffer was saying to us at Grimsby—he didn't want to lose, he didn't want to draw, he wanted to win. We were able to go and do that, so it's our advantage. But we can't get too ahead of ourselves because it's only 2-1, just one goal to us. We have to go out and make another statement."

For a team that just missed out on automatic promotion, the hunger is real. Mnoga sees this as the next step in their journey toward League One. "When you've got five clean sheets, you look at the back four and the goalkeeper, but as a team, as a collective, we can all be proud of that. It helps us go to the next game feeling confident. Obviously, we just fell short of automatic promotion, so now we've got our next goal to tick off—and I can see us doing it. I'm very confident in the team and the squad we have."

With the Peninsula Stadium rocking and the defense locked in, Salford are ready to make a statement. All eyes are on Friday night as they look to turn their fortress into a launchpad for Wembley.