Salford Red Devils win 50-28 at Halifax to boost Super League hopes

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Salford boosted their chances of staying in the Super League after three players scored hat-tricks against Halifax.

Salford boosted their chances of retaining their Super League status after three players scored hat-tricks in their 50-28 win over Halifax at The Shay.

Niall Evalds scored the opening try for the Red Devils after 10 minutes and added another shortly afterwards before completing his treble early in the second half.

Hosts Halifax showed some fighting spirit and reduced the deficit with a couple of tries in the second period but former Leeds player Ben Jones-Bishop and wing Greg Johnson also completed hat-tricks to secure victory for Salford.

Evalds' form has been one of the highlights of a disappointing season for Reds and he was on hand to break the deadlock when he slipped over after Halifax had conceded possession in a dangerous position.

A precise diagonal kick forward from Johnson by the touchline allowed Evalds to power over for his second try but Fax soon struck back, Dane Manning going over after a spot of juggling with the ball following an excellent lay-off under pressure from Steve Tyrer.

Two more scores before the break re-established Salford's superiority, though, as Johnson powered over in the corner before a flowing move ended with Jones-Bishop jinking back inside to dab over, with Josh Griffin converting to make it 22-6 to Salford at the break.

James Saltonstall crossed for Halifax in the corner, although he had to wait for confirmation from the video ref

A rare mistake from Evalds after the restart allowed the home side to cross, birthday boy Scott Murrell cruising in under the posts after Evalds failed to gather a high ball as he slipped.

But Evalds swiftly made amends just three minutes later as he completed his hat-trick in style after dispossessing James Saltonstall in his own half and racing home from 60m to score unopposed.

Halifax then enjoyed their best period of the match and made their pressure count as they scored two tries in quick succession.

First, Tyrer picked out Saltonstall and he nipped over in the corner, although he had to wait for the video ref to confirm the on-field decision of try, with Jacob Fairbank then sliding over under the posts to reduce the deficit to 22-28.

Spark

That merely sparked the Red Devils back into life, however, Jones-Bishop gathering a kick in Salford's in-goal area before racing the length of the field to score after breaking through some indifferent tackling.

Another breakaway try for the visitors, this time from Johnson who raced 80m to score, made the score 40-22 before Jones-Bishop completed his treble when he scored in the corner after the ball had been moved through hands at speed.

Johnson became the third Salford player to score a hat-trick, with Griffin duly slotting over his fifth conversion as they reached their half-century of points.

A late rally saw Halifax pull another try back, prop forward Adam Tangata running a good line to dive over under the posts, before a late 'try' for the Yorkshire side was chalked off for a double movement in the build-up.