Salford stun Airlie Birds
Salford clinched their first home victory since last July with a superb 27-20 triumph over high-flying Hull at the Willows.
Last Updated: 27/03/10 9:12pm
Lowly Salford finally delivered in front of their own fans at the Willows with a thrilling 27-20 triumph over fifth-placed Hull.
The Reds registered their first success on home soil since July 9 of last year thanks to two tries apiece from Jodie Broughton and Karl Fitzpatrick.
Adam Sidlow had opened the scoring while stand-off Daniel Holdsworth kicked three conversions and a late drop goal that sealed the win.
Hull crossed four times themselves, including a score on debut from teenage winger Reece Lyne, but still suffered a third straight reverse on their travels.
First blood
A home win was long overdue for Salford, who had drawn first blood inside two minutes when Sidlow forced his way over after cutting back on the angle, the forward reaching out to just ground the ball over the try-line.
Hull's reponse came in fortunate fashion, Sean Long's grubber rebounding off team-mate Craig Fitzgibbon's shin straight back into his path.
The hosts had the luck of the Irish themselves, though, when Steven Tyrer's clever kick bounced away from the retreating Lyne, allowing Fitzpatrick to dive over the youngster to score his first of the evening.
However two tries before the break put the Airlie Birds in front - Kirk Yeaman notching the first when he plucked Long's kick out of the air with one hand.
Although former Red Jordan Turner saw a try chalked off for obstruction, Epalahame Luaki somehow fended off no less than seven defenders to get over in the closing minutes of the first half to put Hull clear for the first time.
Yet Salford refused to go away, as the tit-for-tat scoring continued during a pulsating second half.
Broughton, who spent two spells on loan at Hull, levelled matters at 16 apiece when he accepted Willie Talau's superb offload to squeeze over on the left.
With the game right in the balance tempers flared following a flop by Mark O'Meley, Ray Cashmere taking the law into his own hands to hand out immediate punishment by pushing the Australian forward to the ground.
From the resulting penalty the Reds ran in a fourth try, Holdsworth's heavy kick to the right corner somehow being kept in play by a leaping Tyrer. Fitzpatrick cashed in on his colleague's efforts by diving on the loose ball.
Lyne strikes
Salford's lead, which stood at only four points after Holdsworth's failure to add the extras, lasted all of five minutes as Lyne raced over on the right.
The 17-year-old was left with a simple run-in but soon turned from hero to villain when he made a mess of dealing with a high kick close to his own line.
Broughton cashed in during the next set of six by squirming in at the corner and this time Holdsworth converted to give Shaun McRae's side a six-point lead.
This time there was to be no comeback from Hull, though it needed a superb last-ditch tackle from centre Talau to stop Richard Whiting going over.
After Matty Smith sliced two drop-goal attempts wide, the impressive Holdsworth kicked the first one-pointer of his career to make sure the Reds ended the Airlie Birds' eight-match winning run at the Willows.
