Swagger and grit not enough against Saints
SALFORD 4 ST HELENS 30
SALFORD produced what their coach Ian Watson labelled a ‘gritty’ performance full of ‘swagger,’ but it was not enough to overcome a St Helens side destined for the Super League semi-finals.
The Red Devils started strongly in both defence and attack, but were reduced to 12 men half an hour in and simply ran out of steam in the second period.
“We spoke over the last three weeks about getting our swagger back, in how we play, how we move the ball, in being a footballing team,” said Watson.
“Overall, I thought today typified what we spoke about as a group. They backed each other up, even when we went down to 12. People kept working hard and defending. That typifies the spirit we have.”
The Red Devils had all of the play in the opening exchanges and after earning good field position, Rob Lui’s high kick was shelled by fullback Ben Barba and Niall Evalds opened the scoring from the resulting scrum.
Following the try, it was the Salford defence that was put to the test - withstanding repeat sets on their goal line and coping well with whatever was thrown at them by the visitors. However, numerous handling errors prevented them getting out of their own half and eventually, the St Helens pressure told, Mark Percival levelling the scores from out wide.
With 10 minutes to go to halftime, Alex Walmsley took Saints into the lead barging over the line just next to the sticks. Soon after, Walmsley led with the elbow and connected with Jordan Walne’s face, leading to calls for a red card.
Referee James Child decided to place the incident on report only but had his hand in his pocket on the very next play, producing a red card for Ryan Lannon for his late hit on Theo Fages.
The game appeared to have simmered down into the second half and Salford fronted up well despite the numerical disadvantage, but the extra man began to tell around the hour mark. Regan Grace had a try chalked off because of a foot in touch, but Zeb Taia extended the Saints lead soon after.
And the game was over when Walmsley crossed for his second inside the final 10 minutes. Barba cut through the Salford defence to seal the win in the final seconds.
The Red Devils’ performances since the end of May have disappointed - but a year on from competing in the Million Pound Game, Watson and his staff are pleased with the progress they have made.