Salford Red Devils went down 40 points to 14 at the hands of Warrington Wolves last night at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Earlier in the day news had filtered through that the Reds had failed in their appeal to overturn the salary cap breach points deduction.
So while a win would be extremely welcome in the fight to reach the top eight there was also the need to put in a morale-boosting display.
Coach Ian Watson had the rare luxury of being able field the same team that had narrowly beaten Castleford Tigers a week ago.
Whilst the Reds were well beaten in the end they more than held their own for most of the first half.
A late try just before the break and a try early just after laid the platform for this Warrington success.
Had the Reds not messed up on at least three occasions then the score could have been much closer.
The early stages of the game were about even until Salford took a 6th minute lead when a Michael Dobson grubber kick evaded the clutches of Stefan Ratchford but not Junior Sau who just got his fingertips to the ball. Gareth O’Brien hooking his kick wide for a 0-4 score.
A chance to go further ahead minutes later went begging when O’Brien went through a gap but failed to take Robert Lui’s pass.
O’Brien added to his woes when he failed with a penalty soon after.
The Reds continued to take the game to the Wolves with first a promising run by Greg Johnson and then with Ben Murdoch-Masila going close.
In the 22nd minute the hosts clicked into gear when loose-forward Joe Westerman plunged through a number of defenders to score. Ratchford converted to put the Wolves ahead at 6-4.
The Reds continued to have a say in the game with Lui this time being held up over the line.
Lui then blotted his copybook when he failed to play the ball properly which gave Warrington possession and led to centre Ryan Atkins forcing his way over in the corner. Declan Patton added the conversion (12-4).
With half-time fast approaching,the Wolves took an 18-4 lead when a wide ball out to the left enabled Atkins to cut inside before weaving through to notch his second try. Patton added another great conversion from the touch-line to give the hosts a twelve point cushion.
Four minutes into the second-half saw the Reds go further behind when Warrington winger Tom Lineham easily beat his opposite number Mason Caton-Brown on the outside to score by the flag (22-4).
The Reds then restored some pride shortly after when a storming run by Josh Griffin brought him a try. Unfortunately O’Brien slipped as he took his kick and the ball dropped well short (22-8).
Salford then looked to have scored again when a great run by Junior Sau took play to the Wolves line only for substitute hooker Sean Kenny to lose control of the ball as he touched down.
Warrington quickly mounted another attack but as Ratchford slipped it like the threat had passed but he recovered and the move ended with Westerman forcing his way over for his second try. Patton’s conversion gave the Wolves an unassailable 28-8 lead.
O’Brien then failed to deal with a kick and with the Reds defence in some disarray,Wolves were quick to take advantage with Patton getting on the end of a loose ball to score. He added the conversion for a 34-8 lead.
Things were going from bad to worse for Salford and a well-judged grubber kick from Wolves scrum-half Chris Sandow brought a try for Matty Russell as he beat Johnson to the ball to score. Patton landed a great conversion from almost touch (40-8).
The Reds though were not quite done for and scored their third try when Lui kidded the Wolves defence to coast over for a try. O’Brien converted this time for a 40-14 score.
Salford should have added to their tally in the dying seconds but the video ref ruled out a Johnson effort in the corner.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
Inevitably after the match coach Watson spoke of the failed salary cap appeal: “Everyone was well aware of it,the tough thing is that the result came out on game day.
“So we kind of spoke quickly about it in the morning but we didn’t want to make too big a thing out of it.
“All the players were really positive, wanting to focus on this game, get the victory and move forward, but it does have an impact on your thinking. Emotion only takes you so far. It’s been a tough day all round for the club and for the players.”
“We had a dig early doors but had a lull in the middle period and I sensed us being a bit flat at half-time.
“If Sean Kenny had scored, it might have turned the game a little bit but we piggy-backed them out of field position and made some silly errors.”
“We spoke at the beginning of the year about being a strong team and being competitive all the time,” he added.
“What we need to do now is finish the season strongly, win these next two games, and then we can look forward to the Middle 8s and go in there with some form.
“It’s going to be a tough competition to play in. If we can get the wins and look back and say, with those six points, we’re a top-six team, then we’ve done really well.”
Salford: O’Brien, Johnson, Sau, J Griffin, Caton-Brown, Lui, Dobson, Kopczak, Tomkins, G Griffin, Murdoch-Masila, Jones, Flanagan.
Subs: Hauraki,J Walne,Kenny,A Walne.
Referee: Mr J Cobb
