Twelve-man Salford Red Devils held on to a nervy two points in the capital.
It’s a result that gets the Reds back to winning ways after a disappointing performance against Castleford Tigers just over a fortnight ago.
Paul Rowley made three enforced changes to his starting 13, with Shane Wright moving into the back row, King Vuniyayawa in at prop and Joe Mellor at hooker.
It was scrappy start for both sides, with errors aplenty and a crisp breeze holding up some high kicks from Marc Sneyd and Oli Leyland.
Broncos did open the scoring after repeat penalties; coming out wide left from a scrum and working the hands to send Iliess Macani over in the right corner.
It was a shock to Salford’s system, but we responded quickly through the skipper, Kallum Watkins.
Ryan Brierley, who was our main threat in the first 25 minutes, pierced a gap to allow the centre an easy stroll in to the right of the posts.
One almost became two when Deon Cross made a lightning break down the left edge, but his ball back inside to Sneyd was behind the halfback.
Opportunities came and went for the Red Devils, with Wright the next to break the line and charge through on the Broncos full-back.
He was brought down and Cust’s attempted dink to Ryan was far too strong for the winger to claim.
Salford returned for the second forty in better form and were soon on the board when some quick rucks gained valuable territory.
Sneyd looped a pass out wide and Cross backed himself to ground in the corner – confirmed by the video referee.
The conversion from the touchline made it a two-try game and Salford were looking to press-on their advantage from the restart.
Nene Macdonald was a menace from high balls and he almost created an opportunity for Andrew Dixon with an athletic tip back.
Unfortunately for the back-rower, he was just too slow to react and spilled the ball just a few metres from the Broncos try-line.
Cross, again made a quick break with some dancing feet up the left edge. He was brought down and King Vuniyayawa failed to play the ball correctly when momentum was starting to build.
The Fijian’s day went from bad to worse moments later, with referee, Aaron Moore showing him a red card following a challenge in the middle of the park.
Rowley’s side had to show character and see-out the final 25 minutes a man down.
Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the performance was how well his team did keep the ball and gain territory from that point onwards.
That didn’t convert into points, however. Even when Tim Lafai crossed and the referee sent a decision of try upstairs for the video referee to confirm.
After a long wait, it was claimed Cross had knocked the ball forward from the initial tip.
Salford saw out the closing stages and confirmed a fifth Betfred Super League victory from our first eight fixtures – a promising start to 2024.
MATCH FACTS:
Salford line-up: Ryan Brierley, Ethan Ryan, Nene Macdonald, Tim Lafai, Deon Cross, Cade Cust, Marc Sneyd, Jack Ormondroyd, Joe Mellor, King Vuniyayawa, Kallum Watkins, Shane Wright, Oliver Partington.
Interchanges: Chris Atkin, Joe Shorrocks, Andrew Dixon, Gil Dudson.
Tries: Kallum Watkins, Deon Cross.
Conversions: Marc Sneyd (2/2)
London Broncos line-up: Alex Walker, Lee Kershaw, Robbie Storey, Hakim Miloudi, Iliess Macani, Oli Leyland, James Meadows, Rhys Kennedy, Sam Davis, Rob Butler, Will Lovell, Jacob Jones, Marcus Stock.
Interchanges: Dean Parata, Ugo Tison, Jordan Williams, Harvey Makin.
Tries: Iliess Macani.
Conversions: Oli Leyland (0/1)
HT: 4-6
