Round 21 saw a painful defeat to Hull FC at the MKM Stadium as the Black and Whites dominated throughout the game to end it 80-6.
Hull FC took an early lead and continued to build on it throughout the game with multiple consecutive tries in both halves.
Regardless of the scoreboard, the Reds continued to fight until the final whistle and this was shown perfectly with an ending try by Dwyer that gave the fans something to cheer for.
A quick start to the game saw Hull on the scoreboad as they took the ball out wide to Martin. He ran into the corner and managed to avoid Salford’s tackle, grounding the ball and get the first points of the game.
With their next set, Cust chipped on the last tackle but Salford hands collected. However, the Reds were offside and Hull were given a scrum 10 out, followed by a penalty for a high tackle.
Hull pushed further ahead as Martin broke through the defense before passing to Barron who won the race to the line and grounded between the sticks.
In an attempt to collect the kick, Litten jumped above Murphy, making contact with the ball before pushing it forward.
In a strong attack, the Reds pushed to the line with the aid of a penalty for late contact. Sangare almost made it over e but was pulled back and stopped due to a forward pass.
Despite Salford’s build of momentum, Hull were next to score as Cartwright caught the kick and ran it over the line.
The next few minutes saw several consecutive tries for the Black and Whites as Borouh’s made a break and ran to the wing for Barron to take the ball over.
Martin then followed with his second of the afternoon, once again running into the corner and across before finally ground the ball. Following Martin’s lead, Cartwright scored his second after a line break that saw him race the Reds to the line.
Another Martin break on the wing, followed by a pass inside to Litten, saw the centre add his name to the scoreboard.
Only minutes after his last try, Martin made it a hat trick as he grounded in the corner for the third time. With a fifth successful conversion by Hardaker, the score sat at 44-0 with 32 minutes on the clock.
Hull’s streak was finally broken as Hardaker made a forward pass to Chamberlain to give Salford possession.
The Reds showed a good attacking set, although were unable to get any points, they did force the Black and Whites to start from their own line.
Unfortunately, Hull were able to get their ninth try before half time as Cust dodged the Salford tackle to cross.
It began to look promising for Salford in the final minutes of the first half as Murphy caught Hull’s chip and ran it forward before being tackled and awarded a penalty on the whistle..
With a player taken out by Hull, the Reds were given a second penalty which Dwyer ran and chipped over the defensive line in the hopes of a final push to end the half, though it was caught and thrown out by Hull hands.
The second half began with the same story as the home side dominated, though the Reds showed stronger signs of resistance.
Hull ended their set with a kick to the corner which Murphy won the battle to collect although he was quickly pulled into touch for the Airlie Birds to start at their own line.
Yates almost put a stop to their attack as he intercepted the ball, however it was quickly spilled and Hull got the scrum.
Following a string of passes to the left wing, Martin was able to continue adding the points to the scoreboard by grounding in the corner.
Hull’s next attempt was stopped short by a knock on from Eseh. The Reds managed to make metres but Murphy was unable to catch his own chip as he battled against multiple defenders.
It was another streak of tries for the home side as Ese’Ese was next to put his name on the scoreboard as he ran in from 20m out.
Borouh followed suit, dodging the tackle at the line to ground between the sticks before Litten continued the streak by running the ball into the corner.
It looked as though Cust was about to get his second of the afternoon as he bounced over the sticks but it was a double movement and the try was disallowed.
Their next attempt was also stopped short as Hill caught the kick and prevented the Black and Whites from running it any closer to the line.
Unfortunately, Hull’s try scoring was yet to be over as Briscoe was the ninth player on the scoreboard after grounding between the sticks following a line break by Hardaker.
The Reds refused to give up and, with a successful Captain’s Challenge of a handover, they started their next set from inside Hull’s half.
It was a strong set from Salford that pushed them right to the line, but unfortunately Chan was tackled just before the line to end the set.
Salford were soon awarded a penalty which started their next set at the half way line. They pushed forward once again but Sangare’s strong attack ended with a spill as Watts tackled him.
The Reds continued to battle to the end with a seemingly renewed sense of energy in the final minutes and they finally got a small victory.
A line break by Murphy pushed them into Hull territory and they continued to fight to the sticks. Looking like he might be held up at the line, Dwyer managed to break through the tackle to get over and ground the ball between the sticks.
With the screaming Salford fans behind him, Lumb swiftly converted to give the Reds six points on the scoreboard.
Despite this last minute success, it was a harsh defeat for the Reds as the game ended 80-6.
MATCH FACTS:
Salford XIII: Declan Murphy, Riley Lumb, Tom Whitehead, Toby Warren, Sam Hill, Nathan Connell, Ciaran Nolan, Justin Sangare, Finley Yates, Loghan Lewis, Ben Littlewood, Tiaki Chan, Harvey Wilson
Interchanges: Charlie Glover, Brad Dwyer, Harvey Makin, Taylor Kerr
Tries: Dwyer
Conversions: Lumb (1/1)
Hull FC XIII: Will Pryce, Harvey Barron, Tom Briscoe, Davy Litten, Lewis Martin, Zac Hardaker, Cade Cust, Herman Ese’Ese, Amir Bourouh, Liam Watts, Jed Cartwright, Ed Chamberlain, John Asiata
Interchanges: Jack Ashworth, Yusuf Aydin, Jack Charles, Sam Eseh
Tries: Martin (4), Barron(2), Cartwright (2), Litten (2), Cust, Ese’Ese, Borouh, Briscoe
Conversions: Pryce (0/1), Hardaker (12/13)
HT: 50-0
FT: 80-6
