Wigan down the Red Devils

[josie andrews]

* Match Report as Wigan Warriors win against Salford Red Devils

* Wigan scored two late tries to snatch the points in an end-to-end game at Salford Community Stadium.

* FT | Salford Red Devils 12-22 Wigan Warriors.

WIGAN WARRIORS CLAIMED ANOTHER TWO BETFRED SUPER LEAGUE POINTS WITH A LATE WIN AGAINST SALFORD RED DEVILS ON THURSDAY NIGHT

A competitive first half ended at 4-0 in Wigan’s favour as a moment of magic between Jai Field and Liam Marshall saw Wigan cross just before the half time break.

Wigan made it 10-0 after the restart through Abbas Miski but Salford fought back with two converted scores from Stone and Lafai to take a 12-10 lead. A late score from Jake Wardle and Bevan secured the two points for the Warriors as Wigan scored two tries in the final five minutes to snatch the win and continue their unbeaten start to the Super League season.

Report

A competitive opening 20 minutes saw the teams go end to end. Wigan had the best opportunity as Liam Farrell created a gap to get Wigan close to the Salford goal line before a kick in behind allowed Liam Marshall to chase but the effort was cleared by Ryan Brierley to deny a score.

A fiercely defensive half of Rugby League saw the score remain at 0-0 past the half hour mark but Salford Red Devils almost carved open a score through Ryan Brierley before the interval. The full back supported in the middle of the park to receive an offload and chip over the top but a great defensive cover from Harry Smith saw the opportunity go begging.

Wigan did break the deadlock however with 38 minutes on the clock, a perfect grubber kick through from Jai Field found Liam Marshall on the left wing to collect and ground the ball. Harry Smith couldn’t add the extras from the touchline but Wigan took in a 4-0 lead as the hooter sounded.

It was a much brighter start to the second half and Wigan doubled their tally early on, a looping pass from Bevan French out to Abbas Miski on the right wing allowed Miski to dive in and extend Wigan’s lead. Smith added the extras this time as Wigan led 10-0.

Salford hit back quickly though and repeat sets in front of the Wigan goal line saw them get their reward. A teasing grubber towards the sticks from Sneyd wasn’t dealt with by Wigan as Sam Stone collected the loose ball to ground. Marc Sneyd added the two and it was 10-6 to the Warriors.

The hosts took the lead for the first time in the game as Tim Lafai crashed over just after the hour mark, a testing kick to the corner being batted back down into the hands of Lafai to ease over. A conversion from Sneyd took the Red Devils out to 12-10 going into the final 15 minutes.

With Salford looking to extend the lead, Harry Smith was shown a yellow card in the 70th minute to see Wigan down to 12-men to finish the game, the half back was adjudged to have blocked off the runner close to the goal line.

Wigan closed out the game with two tries in the final five minutes. The first came as a short goal line drop out attempt from the Red Devils went straight to Jake Wardle who raced in to score. Bevan French then sealed the victory in the final minute with a fantastic step inside, both scores were converted by Adam Keighran to see Wigan to a 22-12 victory.

Salford Red Devils: Ryan Brierley, David Nofoaluma, Nene Macdonald, Tim Lafai, Deon Cross, Chris Atkin, Marc Sneyd, Andrew Dixon, Amir Bourouh, King Vuniyayawa, Sam Stone, Kallum Watkins, Joe Shorrocks.

Interchange: Ethan Ryan, Shane Wright, Matty Foster, Gil Dudson.

18th Player: Kai Morgan.

Tries: Stone (51′), Lafai (62′)

Goals: Sneyd 2/2

Wigan Warriors: Jai Field, Abbas Miski, Adam Keighran, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall, Bevan French, Harry Smith, Luke Thompson, Brad O’Neill, Liam Byrne, Willie Isa, Liam Farrell, Kaide Ellis.

Interchange: Patrick Mago, Tyler Dupree, Harvie Hill, Tom Forber (Unused)

18th Player: Junior Nsemba.

Tries: Marshall (38′), Miski (46′), Wardle (76′), French (79′)

Goals: Smith 1/2, Keighran 2/2

Sin Bin: Smith (70′)

Referee: Chris Kendall

Attendance: 6,087

https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2024/03/ ... ed-devils/

[josie andrews]

Peet: I’m proud

* Matt Peet praised his side after a late win over Salford Red Devils at the Salford Community Stadium.

* Peet: “We showed a strong mentality to come from behind whilst down to 12-men which is something I’m proud of.”

* FT | Salford Red Devils 12-22 Wigan Warriors.

MATT PEET SHARED HIS PRIDE AFTER WIGAN WARRIORS FOUGHT BACK TO DEFEAT SALFORD RED DEVILS 22-12 AT THE SALFORD COMMUNITY STADIUM.

The Warriors scored twice in the final five minutes through Jake Wardle and Bevan French to extend their perfect start to the Betfred Super League campaign.

Reflecting on the victory, Peet said: “Obviously it’s really pleasing to get the win, but even before the late tries I was proud of the effort. We weren’t at our best with the ball, but that’s because Salford were very good in the way they moved the play with such confidence in the wet conditions. Tonight was between two really determined teams who both could have gone on to win – I’m delighted we got the last say in the end.”

Praising the effort of the players, Peet said: “The main thing is that I never doubt the lads’ effort. I’m not just proud of them because they won, it was down to the way they chased kicks and defended plays. It’s good when you get the win at the end like that as it’s a reward to the lads for playing with so much heart and commitment.”

On trusting his players, Peet said: “We’re not a team who are massive on sending messages to the players as we trust them. We talk through a lot of scenarios in training so that come gameday it can be for players to manage. We’ve got a strong leadership group and an intelligent spine which we put our trust in.”

On mentality, Peet said: “The win was down to our work ethic and our will to roll our sleeves up for one another – that’s an important trait for a team who want to be successful. I have to repeat that we weren’t at our best tonight, but we showed a strong mentality to come from behind whilst down to 12-men which is something I’m proud of. I’m happy to be here with two points.”

https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2024/03/ ... m-proud-2/