The Red Devils fell to the defeat against Wakefield Trinity for the third time in the league this season, suffering a 18-43 loss.
Ian Watson’s side took an early lead but found themselves behind at half-time and a slow start to the second half left the Red Devils with too much to do in the latter stages.
Centre duo Kris Welham and Junior Sa’u returned for Salford while Ben Murdoch-Masila was re-introduced after picking up a rib injury against Castleford. Tyler Randall debuted for Trinity with Joe Arundal returning to the side, also.
Salford had started well when Craig Kopczak powered his way over from close-range to open the scoring. Todd Carney followed up with the boot and the Red Devils looked to be on their way however it wasn’t to be.
Wakefield hit back as Jacob Miller was quickest to react to his low kick which took several deflections. The returning Arundal then put Trinity ahead midway through the first half. Finn converted both.
But, Salford managed to pull level as Greg Johnson muscled his way over out wide following some quick hands. However, the Red Devils found themselves back behind almost immediately as Miller again latched onto a kick after a mix-up at the back. Liam Finn converted before kicking two penalty goals before the break and one afterwards to open up a ten-point lead.
Chris Chester’s men were slowly pulling away and two tries in quick succession confirmed the outcome. Debutant Randall broke from the scrum and sliced through the Salford defence before Bill Tupou scored after several half-breaks and some off-the-cuff play from Trinity. Finn converted both.
Randall went on to join Miller as he grabbed a second as he again split the Red Devils defence from close-range. Tyrone McCarthy scored his first Super League try for Salford in the closing stages and it was some try as he spun, put through a neat grubber kick before collecting the ball himself and scoring. However, it was nothing more than a consolation for the Red Devils who face Huddersfield next up at the The Salford Stadium.
Red Devils: O’Brien, Johnson, Welham, Sa’u, Vatuvei; Lui, Carney; Kopczak, Tomkins, Hauraki, Murdoch-Masila, Lannon, McCarthy. Interchanges: Jones, Griffin, Krasniqi, Brining.
Wakefield: Grix, Jones-Bishop, Lyne, Arundal, Tupou; Miller, Finn; England, Tyler, Hirst, Ashurst, Kirkmond, Arona. Interchanges: Hadley, Fifita, Huby, Annakin.
Referee: Phil Bentham. Touch Judges – P Brooke & J Smith. Attendance: 2489.
