Comfortable for Crusaders

Crusaders got their Super League season off to the best possible start on Sunday with a 42-12 victory against Salford at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

Having held a six-point lead at half time, the Welsh side ran in four unanswered tries in the second half with Michael Witt completing a hat-trick.

The result marks a memorable debut for Crusaders' new coach Iestyn Harris and will also serve as a filip for the club given their financial woes.

It will, in constrast, be one to forget for the Reds and Shaun McRae, whose 436th game as a coach ended with his side looking very ragged.

Salford have brought in a host of new names this season and are hoping to push for a play-off place, but the best they could manage in Cardiff were two first half tries scored by one of the newcomers, Luke Patten, and Daniel Holdsworth.

Both sides were missing players but Salford suffered a further withdrawal before kick-off when Vinnie Anderson was ruled out with a back injury.

Early error

Patten's first contribution was not his best - the Australian full-back knocking on in the fifth minute when trying to deal with an attempted 40-20 kick deep in Reds territory.

Crusaders took the lead as a result, feeding the ball left with Rhys Williams bursting through on an overlap to cross, with Clinton Schifcofske converting from 35 metres out.

Their defence allowed Patten to come through the centre in the ninth minute, but Salford's break came to nothing after he offloaded to Holdsworth.

Holdsworth then crossed three minutes later after Salford had won a penalty, the Reds captain picking up a pass from Matty Smith and dummying his way through the opposing defence to cross.

Holdsworth also converted to level but Crusaders were soon back ahead, shortly after Salford had held Tony Martin up over the line.

Crusaders continued to press and, after Adam Neal was caught offside, Witt managed to reach past three Reds players and touch down.

Schifcofske found the target once more and their third then came shortly before the 20-minute mark as Martin's final pass found Stuart Reardon in the right-hand corner.

Schifcofske this time missed but with Iefeta Palea'aesina now on the pitch for Salford, the Reds cut the gap back to four points after winning a penalty, with Patten eventually crossing and Holdsworth converting.

Salford were probing the opposing defence entering the final 10 minutes of the half but despite their efforts, the pressure ended when Rob Parker lost possession.

Parker then conceded a penalty in the closing seconds of the half, with Schifcofske finding the target from 42 metres.

The Reds made a bright start to the second period and earned themselves three successive sets. However, they could not score.

Instead, Schifcofske took advantage of a flat-footed Salford side on the second goal-line drop out to run instead, with Jarrod Sammut helping turn defence into attack.

Crusaders also failed to make three straight sets pay but nevertheless scored their fourth in the 54th minute when Jason Chan finished off a move inspired by Lincoln Withers, who sprinted from dummy-half before passing to Witt.

Pressure

Schifcofske kicked the extras and did so again after Witt scored his second, Patten having lost possession for Salford trying to deal with a high kick under pressure from Sammut.

Witt completed his hat-trick in the 65th minute - Schifcofske converting again - with the game effectively over there and then.

Reardon grabbed his second and came close to a hat-trick of his own in the closing minutes as Crusaders turned on the style.

Schifcofske's flourishes were particularly noteworthy, although they also resulted in a late collision with Chris Nero - against whom the Crusaders full-back retaliated with a punch.

Wayne Godwin responded in kind, with the Salford debutant sent off for his troubles on the stroke of full time.