Fages just the trick for Saints

THEO FAGES’ moment of magic against his old club sealed a crucial win for St Helens and eased the pressure on coach Keiron Cunningham.

The Saints stand-off – heavily involved throughout – took an offload from Ryan Morgan and somehow produced a miracle pass while off balance for Jack Owens to score the winning try.

It decided a captivating clash that saw a first-half points frenzy before both sides rolled their sleeves up in an uncompromising second period.

Three consecutive defeats had turned the spotlight on Cunningham, but his side responded with a gutsy performance to secure a much-needed win. The teams traded tries and disallowed scores in a chaotic first half that ended with Saints 22-18 ahead.

The visitors started the tit-for-tat scoring when Jon Wilkin, Fages, Tommy Makinson and Mark Percival linked for Adam Swift to touch down.

Thomas Bosc responded at the other end before the same Saints combination saw Percival cross soon after.

Catalans prop Julien Bousquet was next over the line, only for Morgan to hit back immediately.

Cunningham’s side established the first two-score lead through prop Adam Walker – but it didn’t last long as Iain Thornley produced a flying finish in the corner.

Catalans moved ahead through Paul Aiton’s dummy half effort and held onto the lead until the 73rd minute – despite Saints claims for another try being waved away.

It mattered little when the home defence eventually cracked for the only time in the second half.

Taking Morgan’s pass, Fages (above) somehow found winger Owens just before hitting the ground.

Percival added the conversion and Cunningham’s team then stood firm in the desperate closing stages.