SALFORD 16 DONCASTER 44
KASEY SMITH, CorpAcq Stadium, Sunday
DONCASTER held on for an unconvincing win over Salford to keep pace with the Championship’s top five.
The Dons did most of their damage in the first quarter, scoring at more than a point a minute, but their momentum faded thereafter as Salford steadily chipped away at the 22-point lead, but were ultimately unable to claw it back.
Excluding the automatic walkover win over North Wales, the Dons have gone without a victory since their win over Sheffield at the start of April, a run that has included successive defeats to London, Oldham and Barrow.
But Salford were unable to inflict another defeat on them, as they made a couple of costly errors – kicking out on the full on the last tackle and then again from the restart – which made life easy for the away side when they were in full flow. Had they shown a little more polish in the opening quarter, this could have been a different story.
They did show plenty of fight to wrestle back momentum from the Dons, and with Toby Hughes in their ranks, they have a player capable of conjuring something out of nothing. His two tries just before half-time kept alive hope that Salford might salvage something.
Fortunately for the Dons, they did enough late on to ensure they would come away with a win.
Alex Sutcliffe opened the scoring and the lead was doubled when Cory Aston found Bureta Faraimo via a sweeping pass, leaving Jacob Douglas isolated and the former Hull winger free to score in the corner.
Then a powerful and intelligent carry from Watson Boas saw him release Mitieli Vulikijapani, who extended the lead to three scores. Doncaster’s momentum continued as Sutcliffe grabbed a second, shortly after.
Salford spent much of the first half pinned deep inside their own territory, but a high tackle on Brad Dwyer proved costly. Hughes made the Dons pay in style, using dazzling footwork to carve open a gap before weaving his way over the line.
Having just blown a chance to score another, Doncaster hit back through Tom Holmes.
Salford, though, pressed on. With the Dons expecting an early kick, Faraimo dropped back to cover, but the kick never came. Instead, Salford moved the ball wide, freeing Jacob Douglas down the wing. The on-loan Saints man found Hughes in support and he scored his second.
Then a Hughes grubber kick towards the line was dived on by Oliver Garmston, cutting Doncaster’s lead back to just two scores.
After the hour mark, Hughes found Douglas in the corner, but the angle was tight and, as he dived over, he couldn’t hold onto the ball.
Emotions swung from elation to devastation almost immediately, as the next phase of play produced a killer blow when Faraimo struck again, scoring his second in the corner to wrap this one up.
Boas scored late on, as well as Faraimo grabbing a hat-trick, to make the scoreline more flattering, but in truth the Dons were given a scare.
GAMESTAR: Despite being on the losing side, Toby Hughes didn’t put a foot wrong and he played a major role in all three of Salford’s tries.
GAMEBREAKER: Bureta Faraimo’s second try came at a crucial time and meant Salford could not produce any heroics.
MATCHFACTS
SALFORD
1 Kieran Dixon
30 Jacob Douglas
12 Oliver Garmston
20 Joe Hartley
39 Callum Green
7 Toby Hughes
28 Lewis Pilling
29 Cameron Bate
32 Joe Baldwin
37 Jack Bibby
33 Cole Oakley
26 Reece Stanton
42 Shaun Costello
Subs (all used)
9 Brad Dwyer
10 Owen Haldenby
36 Danny Lynch
40 Owain Abel
Tries: Hughes (27, 32), Garmston (44)
Goals: Dixon 2/3
DONCASTER
1 Tom Holmes
2 Bureta Faraimo
24 Watson Boas
23 James Glover
26 Mitieli Vulikijapani
6 Cory Aston
7 Connor Robinson
10 Suaia Matagi
9 Greg Burns
17 Muizz Mustapha
12 Alex Sutcliffe
22 Luis Johnson
14 Jacob Jones
Subs (all used)
8 Brad Knowles
20 Isaac Misky
21 Tyla Hepi
29 Tom Whitehead
Tries: Sutcliffe (4, 20), Faraimo (11, 66, 77), Vulikijapani (16), Holmes (32), Boas (72)
Goals: Robinson 6/8
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-10, 0-16, 0-22, 6-22, 6-28, 12-28; 16-28, 16-32, 16-38, 16-44
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Salford: Toby Hughes; Doncaster: Watson Boas
Penalty count: 4-8
Half-time: 12-28
Referee: Adam Williams