Match Report.
Salford City Roosters ended a run of 3 straight defeats in the most unlikeliest of circumstances when second place Barrow club – Askam came to town. Only 8 of the team that played last time out were available with half of the club away on Mark Thomas’s stag weekend. With Askam having lost only once before this season nobody gave the Roosters a prayer, but the team produced a top defensive performance to ease their relegation worries.
Veteran John McAtee and winger Simon Brown came in for their first games of the season and Steve Brooks made only his second appearance and three further players made their debuts. They were Japanese student Suguro, playing only his second ever game of Rugby League and De-La-Salle RU pair Liam Watson and Ryan Worthington. Every player played his part in a magnificent team effort but it stalwart Marc Jones who took the man of the match award after playing 80 minutes in the front row.
The teams tested each other from the off, but defences were on top and it was 26 minutes before the first real threat when Lee Salisbury followed up his own kick to force a goal line drop out with Russ Bolton booting the ball dead. Three minutes later Salisbury opened the scoring when he somehow managed to force the ball down among a host of defenders, 12 metres from the posts and Andrew Muscat converted (6-0).
It was obviously going to be a tight game, with points at a premium and both John Brookes and Marc Jones missed with drop goal attempts before the referee brought the half to an end.
Five minutes into the second period Roosters forced another drop out when Brown chased McAtee’s kick to the corner and panicked Jon Walsh into knocking the ball dead. A third drop out followed 10 minutes after when McAtee’s drop goal attempt was charged down and Bolton again kicked the ball dead with Jones bearing down on him.
On the hour mark Roosters finally recorded a drop goal at the fourth attempt with Brookes slotting the kick over (7-0), but it was Askam who scored next when Ben Lewney touched down in the corner on 70 minutes. Fortunately, Danny Sayle missed the conversion attempt (7-4), although it still set up a nervous last 10 minutes for the Salford team, but they were up to the task, even surviving a goal line drop out when Paul Morgan was tackled in goal on 77 minutes.
