SALFORD 24 SHEFFIELD EAGLES 30
DAN FOWLER, CorpAcq Stadium, Sunday
IN what is becoming a theme for Salford home games against play-off chasers, it was late heartbreak as they went down to Sheffield.
Former Salford star Kai Morgan notched the winner eight minutes from time, in the set after Brad Dwyer missed a field-goal attempt.
Salford held a well-deserved two-point advantage at the break, which could have been more had Kieran Dixon brought his kicking boots – only one conversion from four attempts in the first 40 minutes.
Jordan Abdull’s kicking game once again proved pivotal in the first half, with three open-play kicks ending in three tries, including one for the halfback himself.
In the second half, it was more back-and-forth as the sides exchanged leads throughout, but Sheffield managed to nick the spoils late on.
Salford got the first score of the game after seven minutes, capitalising on back-to-back penalties. The impressive Oli Garmston won the ruck and his quick play-the-ball saw Dwyer scamper and dot down. Dixon couldn’t convert.
Sheffield got the ball back from kick-off as Abdull’s restart got caught in the wind and was collected by Billy Walkley. The winger ended the move as he stepped past Dixon to level the scores. Morgan added the goal.
Two more penalties and a six-again put the hosts on the front foot and they regained the lead on 21 minutes when Cameron Bate powered his way through, and this time it was easy enough for Dixon to make it 10-6.
In what would turn out to be a topsy-turvy first half, the Eagles once again struck back when Abdull’s kick was batted back by Walkley into the hands of the halfback to stroll over. Morgan converted.
On the half-hour, Salford showed their ability as an Owain Abel break set the platform. The next tackle saw the hosts shift the ball to the right for Callum Green to score. Dixon was off target with the conversion attempt.
Abdull was at the heart of Sheffield’s third score with five minutes remaining of the first half. The halfback’s bomb was collected by Walkley, who fed his centre Kieran Gill to go over. Morgan couldn’t convert from the touchline.
However, Salford had the final word before the break. Having won a goal-line dropout, an offload from Garmston found Jake Thewlis to dive over. Dixon, once again, was unsuccessful with the boot but the Reds now had a two-point lead.
Having not won a penalty in the whole first half, Sheffield started to make amends as they levelled the scores on 46 minutes – two points from the boot of Morgan after Alex Foster was hit high.
Salford were back in front soon after, as an off-the-cuff kick on the last found its way to Joe Baldwin to score. Dixon added the goal.
Just before the hour, Sheffield replied with a try from almost nothing. A kick forward by Brown looked to be easy pickings for the hosts, but they fumbled and the fullback dotted down with inches to spare. Abdull converted.
With the scores level, both sides had chances to win the game late on. A Dwyer field-goal attempt went wide and from the ensuing seven tackle set, Sheffield dealt the killer blow.
Seemingly setting up for an Abdull field-goal, the Eagles decided to run it and a Connor Bower offload was perfect for Morgan to cross. Abdull converted, but missed a last-minute penalty as the visitors ran the clock down.
GAMESTAR: Jordan Abdull’s kicking game proved difficult for Salford to deal with.
GAMEBREAKER: Kai Morgan’s late score was the difference between the two sides.
SALFORD
1 Kieran Dixon
39 Callum Green
3 Jake Spedding
20 Joe Hartley
41 Jake Thewlis
7 Toby Hughes
40 Owain Abel
31 Nathan Wilde
9 Brad Dwyer
37 Jack Bibby
12 Oliver Garmston
33 Cole Oakley
42 Shaun Costello
Subs (all used)
26 Reece Stanton
29 Cameron Bate
30 Alfie Leake
32 Joe Baldwin
Tries: Dwyer (8), Bate (21), Green (31), Thewlis (40), Baldwin (49)
Goals: Dixon 2/5
EAGLES
2 Joe Brown
21 Ryan Millar
19 Will Oakes
4 Kieran Gill
5 Billy Walkley
6 Kai Morgan
27 Jordan Abdull
15 George Griffin
9 Corey Johnson
10 Martyn Reilly
11 Connor Bower
23 Alex Foster
17 Harry Bowes
Subs (all used)
3 Josh Hudson
13 Jack Bussey
14 Reiss Butterworth
16 Blake Broadbent
Tries: Walkley (12), Abdull (26), Gill (35), Brown (59), Morgan (72)
Goals: Morgan 3/4, Abdull 2/3
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 4-6, 10-6, 10-12, 14-12, 14-16, 18-16; 18-18, 24-18, 24-24, 24-30
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Salford: Oliver Garmston; Eagles: Jordan Abdull
Penalty count: 5-4
Half-time: 18-16
Referee: Adam Williams