Despite a victory over Warrington Wolves, Salford Red Devils remain at the bottom of the Super League table.
Betfred Super League
Warrington (6) 12
Tries: Dufty, Jake Thewlis Goals: Josh Thewlis 2
Salford (12) 25
Tries: Darbyshire, Sangare 2, Chan Goals: Milnes 4 Drop-goal: Milnes
The Salford Red Devils, currently facing a challenging season, pulled off a surprising win against Warrington Wolves at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, marking only their third victory in the Super League this season.
Warrington’s Matt Dufty scored early, but tries from Jack Darbyshire and Justin Sangare put Salford ahead going into the break.
Jake Thewlis leveled the score in the second half, but Sangare and Tiaki Chan extended Salford’s lead, sealed by a drop-goal from Rowan Milnes.
Salford capitalized on their opportunities, and a strong defensive showing proved critical in securing a morale-boosting win after a trying season both on and off the field.
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Dufty put Warrington in front within the first four minutes, breaking through the defense, and Josh Thewlis’ conversion made it seem like Warrington would dominate.
However, Salford responded well, with Darbyshire scoring a well-deserved try in the 27th minute after impressive build-up play by Harvey Wilson.
Salford’s defense was solid throughout the first half, demonstrating clear determination despite Dufty’s attempts to rally a frustrated Warrington side.
Sangare quickly extended Salford’s lead before halftime, reacting fastest to Neil Tchamambe’s batted-back kick from Milnes, crossing under the posts for an easy conversion.
Warrington responded early in the second half with Jake Thewlis scoring from Leon Hayes’ kick, but Salford quickly replied with another try from Sangare.
Warrington’s challenge grew tougher when Adam Holroyd was sin-binned for a high tackle on Nathan Connell. Salford capitalized, with Chan scoring moments later.
Salford, having sold out their initial away allocation, external earlier in the week, rewarded their supporters with a memorable win, sealing their victory with Milnes’ late drop-goal in the midst of a demanding season.
Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess told BBC Radio Merseyside:
“It’s a tough night. A really tough night. It’s not the first time it’s happened. It’s really disappointing.
“It’s been really tough [since the Challenge Cup final]. You can see the players look like they’re in a tough place. It’s just not working for us at the moment. We’ve got a lot of work to do.
“The season’s over but we had plenty to play for tonight. We had three boys on debut and Leon [Hayes] is back in the side after 16 or 17 months. But we’ve lost a bit of our spirit.
“If anything, I’ve been more motivated this week than I have been for some time. I’m under contract for next year. I’ll do my job and that will be it.
“No doubt I’ve got some hard work to do over the off-season, but in the meantime, I’ve got to get some players ready to work next week against Leigh, who looked extremely good last night.”
Salford Red Devils boss Paul Rowley told BBC Radio Manchester:
“I am emotional. That’s my emotion. I was emotional before the game. And I was emotional last week. It’s all about the fans.
“What we’re good at here is galvanising team spirit. We’ve bought a load of strangers together, and I’ve always said our players are characters, and what you’ve seen is a group of lads – strangers – connect really quickly and fight for one another.
“They’ve connected with the fans. Friday at Leigh these lads bought in, and you’ve seen a performance where they’ve bought in today.”
Warrington: Dufty; Thewlis, Duffy, King, Thewlis; Williams, Hayes; Yates, Walker, Thomas, Smith, Holroyd, Matterson.
Interchanges: Philbin, McKinney, Wood, Powell; Hartill.
Salford: Walker; Tchamambe, Darbyshire, Gorman, Connell; Mellor, Milnes; Lewis, Davis, Sangare, Ruan, Russell, Wilson.
Interchanges: Nikorima, Chan, Warren, Croft; Shaw.
Referee: Scott Mikalauskas.
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