Salford Red Devils were beaten by St Helens in golden point drama this evening.
Head Coach, Paul Rowley was forced into a change at centre; with Tim Lafai suspended, the ever-versatile Chris Hankinson slotted into the left edge.
The only other alteration came at prop – Joe Bullock replacing July’s Player of the Month, Loghan Lewis.
For the first time in a few weeks, heavy rain had fell and made conditions testing for both full-backs. Ryan Brierley and Saints’, Harry Robertson passing the first couple of testers from their opposite halfbacks.
Some resolute defending avoided conceding points in the first five minutes, but an error from Ollie Partington coming out of yardage gave the hosts the perfect opportunity to strike.
Moses Mbye picked-up a loose pass and two tackles later, executed a cut-out pass for Tommy Makinson to barge his way over the try line.
Saints came forward from the restart and forced Deon Cross into a knock-on. From the resulting set, Morgan Knowles almost stole a march on Brierley, but the fullback was quick to deny him and Kallum Watkins dealt with the subsequent grubber.
Chances were few and far between for the Reds. Jayden Nikorima – who was bright throughout – tried to bat back Sneyd’s kick to Ryan, who was in space, but was called offside by referee, Chris Kendall.
Salford were made to work even harder for a 10-minute spell following a Joe Shorrocks sin-binning. He pulled back Daryl Clark, who was supporting Mbye’s break down the middle.
Their patience and grit in defence paid dividends, with multiple Saints penalties pushing the Reds upfield. One just 30 out – a high tackle by Curtis Sironen – was converted into a penalty-goal by Sneyd.
A few minutes later, Saints were caught-out again with Alex Walmsley holding down Jayden Nikorima at the ruck. Sneyd’s kick nudged us level just before half-time.
Saints won the battle for territory in the early exchanges of the second forty. Mbye’s short dink was well taken by Deon Cross, but the winger was dragged out of touch by multiple players.
It was a mistake which costs the Reds dearly, with Sironen busting the line and offloading to Waqa Blake, who raced away into the right corner.
One nearly quickly became two when Tee Ritson broke down the left, but his pass inside to Walmsley was spilled by the big prop and Salford survived.
Rowley’s side regrouped and pressed forward with some real intent. Slick play and a neat grubber from Brierley forced a drop-out – and we capitalised from the very next set.
Sneyd the architect with a skiddy grubber and Hankinson was the first to touch down with the tip of his fingers – confirmed after a lengthy video referee check.
The hosts struck back quickly; introducing Jake Burns at dummy-half, the youngster sped things up and played a short ball for Joe Batchelor to score.
It was a physical contest and plenty of strong tackles were flying in. Blake was penalised for the latest high tackle and then another from Morgan Knowles saw the loose-forward sent for 10.
Two more were in the bin on virtually the next tackle. Batchelor saw yellow for an initial late tackle on Loghan Lewis and Salford’s, Ollie Partington for his part in the scuffle that followed.
That didn’t halt the Reds’ momentum however, with Nene Macdonald powering over on the right edge and Marc Sneyd bringing the scores level from the tee.
There was no shortage of drama in the closing stages that followed.
It was almost deja-vu for Cross and Salford, with a quick break on the right eventually shifted left and the winger almost managing to crash over in the same corner he won the game in Round 4 – this time denied by some scramble Saints defence.
Back down the other end, Joe Shorrocks stopped Mbye slotting over a drop-goal and Brierley performed some heroics to deny Saints a winner on the left edge – sending the contest into golden point.
After a few sets were traded, Saints – via Harry Robertson – won the territory battle and allowed the space for Mbye to nudge over the one-pointer and confirm the two points.
It was a valiant effort from Rowley’s men, who drop to fifth on points difference, but are firmly in the race for a playoff spot. Next up is a trip to Elland Road and a clash with Leigh Leopards at Magic Weekend.
MATCH FACTS:
Salford line-up: Ryan Brierley, Ethan Ryan, Nene Macdonald, Chris Hankinson, Deon Cross, Jayden Nikorima, Marc Sneyd, Brad Singleton, Joe Shorrocks, Joe Bullock, Sam Stone, Kallum Watkins, Ollie Partington.
Interchanges: Shane Wright, Chris Hankinson, Joe Mellor, Loghan Lewis.
Tries: Chris Hankinson, Nene Macdonald.
Conversions: Marc Sneyd (4/4)
St Helens line-up: Harry Robertson, Tommy Makinson, Waqa Blake, Mark Percival, Tee Ritson, Moses Mbye, Lewis Dodd, Matty Lees, Daryl Clark, Agnatius Paasi, Matt Whitley, Curtis Sironen, Morgan Knowles.
Interchanges: Alex Walmsley, Joe Batchelor, James Bell, Jake Burns.
Tries: Tommy Makinson, Waqa Blake, Joe Batchelor.
Conversions: Mark Percival (2/3)
Drop-goal: Moses Mbye
HT: 4-4
Photo credit: Steve McCormick & James Giblin
