Salford forced to battle for win over Sheffield
Last Updated: 14/09/15 10:30am
Salford battled past a spirited Sheffield side as they recorded a 53-34 win at the AJ Bell Stadium on Sunday.
Salford scored ten tries, eight of which were converted by Michael Dobson, while Sheffield scored six tries of their own, and led for most of the first half.
The visitors stretched to an 18-6 lead after 20 minutes, but a slick period from Salford ensured they led 34-24 by half-time. The two sides exchanged tries in the second half before an Iain Thornley try finally sealed the win for Salford with four minutes left on the clock.
Salford opened the scoring when Scott Taylor took the ball up to the line before being tackled near the Sheffield posts. The ball was fed to Weller Hauraki who crashed over from close range to give his side a 6-0 lead following Dobson's conversion.
Sheffield hit back immediately with back-to-back tries, with the first coming when Menzie Yere flicked a pass out in the tackle to Quentin Laulu-Togagae, who chipped ahead for 20-year-old Cory Aston to gather and score.
Straight off the kick-off, Yere added a try of his own when Scott Turner caught the ball off the restart and delivered the touchline pass for the Eagles flyer to run in from deep inside his own half.
Laulu-Togagae added his side's third when he received the ball in the midfield and danced his way through the cover defence to give Patrick Walker an easy conversion, giving Sheffield an unlikely 18-6 lead after 20 minutes.
Harrison Hansen hit back for Salford when he was put through a gap close to the line, but Sheffield increased their lead again when Robert Worrincy leaped higher than Greg Johnson in the Salford in-goal area to make it 24-12.
It sparked a frenzy of tries from Salford, with Josh Griffin adding two of his own, along with efforts from Liam Hood and Lama Tasi as Salford took a 34-24 lead into the break.
Dane Straugher took matters into his own hands for the visitors in the second half, powering over from close range with three defenders trying to stop him.
With the try unconverted, Salford's Iain Thornley then eradicated the score when he cut through the defence and passed to Niall Evalds for a try under the poles, giving Dobson an easy conversion attempt which he made no mistake with.
Sheffield made it a six-point game with 12 minutes remaining when they broke up the left-hand touchline from their own half. Laulu-Togagae received the ball and stepped the defence several times before passing to Scott Turner for the try.
Dobson then slotted a drop goal in an attempt to see the game off, but the win was only truly sealed when Thornley crossed for his side's ninth try with just four minutes remaining, and George Griffin gave his side a cushion when he scored the tenth in the final minute.
