4 tries in 12 minutes was not enough for the Salford Red Devils as a last minute Wakefield try saw Salford fall to a 24-22 defeat at the Beaumont Legal Stadium.
Salford came into the game on the back of a good 24-14 win against Warrington Wolves, and were looking for a win that could have seen them move up to 4th place.
Back Rower Ben Murdoch-Masila came into the side for the first time this season after recovering from an injury picked up in a pre-season Friendly against Rochdale. Justin Carney also returned to the side having missed the last two games through suspension.
Junior Sa’u missed out due to an illness, so Niall Evalds came into the centres for Salford.
In a first half often disrupted by the referees whistle, Salford were the first to score, with Gareth O’Brien converting an early penalty.
Sam Williams equalised for Wakefield with a penalty of their own, before Rhys Lyne scored the first try of the game on the half hour mark to push Trinity out to a 8-2 lead.
Two minutes before half time, Wakefield were in again, this time through Jacob Miller who capitalised on a clever kick through to score in the corner.
Half-time: 12-2
The second half started with Salford on top, and the injection of Lee Mossop and Kriss Brining 10 minutes into the half saw the Red Devils raise the tempo of the game.
This quickly bore fruit for Salford as Ben Murdoch-Masila marked his return the side with a try, crashing over from short range.
With the momentum firmly on Salford’s side, it wasn’t long before the Red Devils scored again, with Kris Welham crossing in the corner to level the scores.
Three minutes later and Salford were in the lead, Greg Johnson with a fantastic finish to cap off another sharp Red Devils move.
Another three minutes on and George Griffin scored following a clever inside pass from Josh Jones to cap off a fruitful 12 minutes for the Red Devils who now lead 12-22.
Wakefield came back into game strongly, and were soon back within touching distance, through Billy Tupou who scored to reduce the deficit to four points.
With just two minutes left in the game, Wakefield broke Salford hearts, with Lyne scoring in the corner, and Williams converting to make the score 24-22.
Salford nearly came back to cap off a famous win in the dying seconds, but the ball was knocked loose over the goal line and Wakefield held on for the victory.
Full time: 24-22.
Salford Red Devils: O’Brien, J.Carney, Evalds, Welham, Johnson, Lui, Dobson, Tasi, Tomkins, Mossop, Jones, Murdoch-Masila, Flanagan, Kopczak, Krasniqi, Griffin, Brining
