Ahead of this Friday’s Super 8s home opener against runaway league leaders Castleford Tigers we look at their previous visit to the The Salford Stadium this season.
The Tigers made a dominant start to the 2017 Super League season winning all their four opening games with victories over Leigh, Warrington, Leeds and Widnes.
As for Salford, it had been a mixed bag of results in the opening weeks of the season. Victories over Huddersfield and Warrington were between narrow losses against Wigan, Leeds and Wakefield.
However, the Red Devils managed to upset the odds by coming from behind to pull off a memorable victory which has fuelled Salford’s most successful season in recent memory.
Luke Gale put the visitors ahead as he capitalised on a spilt kick to cross under the sticks. But, Red Devils powerhouse Ben Murdoch-Masila forced his way but a missed conversion meant the Tigers led going into the break.
Another error from Ian Watson’s side allowed Greg Minikin to scoop up the ball and score but again Murdoch-Masila came to the aid of the Red Devils bundling over the Castleford line and taking four Tigers defenders with him. Gareth O’Brien’s conversion closed the deficit to two points.
O’Brien was on target again a few minutes later as he successfully converted a penalty from in front of the posts to level the scores.
And, in similar fashion to 2016’s Million Pound Game, O’Brien would be the hero as he slotted a drop-goal in closing stages to seal a 13-12 victory for the Red Devils.
The victory over Castleford would begin a five-game winning streak for the Red Devils which saw them climb the Super League table.
Ian Watson will be hoping for a similar result on Friday night that will again lead to Salford hitting form at this crucial stage of the season.
Salford team that day: O’Brien, J. Carney, Sa’u, Welham, Johnson; Lui, Dobson; Mossop, Tomkins, A. Walne, Griffin, Murdoch-Masila, Flanagan. Subs: Kopczak, Krasniqi, Brining, T.Carney.
Fans can still buy tickets for Friday’s game against Castleford over the phone, by visiting the club’s ticket office or online via the club’s website. Supporters are reminded that season tickets are valid for all Super 8s home games.
