Widnes arrived in good form for the first league meeting in Salford since 2018. The last time Widnes won this fixture was back in 2013 in what was a pretty miserable season for Salford who finished bottom of Super League that year. A lot has changed since then though and Allan Coleman’s side were firm favourites prior to kick off.

It was a fine sunny day with a gentle breeze but made perfect conditions for Rugby League. The visitors had two former Salford favourites in their starting lineup, Nathan Connell at fullback and Dan Murray was a starting prop. 

With a host of long term and short term injuries Salford boss Dave Hewitt was forced to bring in loan signings to make a squad up. Jensen Windley returned for a second loan spell from Castleford and he started at fullback. Daniel Sarbah, James Duffy and Harry Smith all started with Isaac Reid on the bench. Jack Bibby and Owen Haldenby were the starting props and Shaun Costello was loose forward. Toby Hughes had another new half back partner in Harry Smith who’s on loan from Leeds.

Widnes definitely had the physical size advantage as well as plenty of pace on the edges. Salford got caught for numbers on the left edge and former Swinton winger Mike Butt went over for the Vikings. The visitors should have scored again shortly after but overplayed the situation and were pulled back for a forward pass.

Windley was being tested under the high ball but dealt with the pressure really well in a very assured opening to the match from the youngster. Widnes injected some pace down the left edge again to double their lead with another try from Butt. Both conversions were missed 0-8.

The Widnes pack continued to dominate and Salford struggled to contain them especially with their offload game. The visitors next score was a disappointing one to concede. A flat pass sent Danny Langtree over close to the line, 0-14.

Windley received a really nasty head knock and failed his HIA which was a big blow. 

Cole Oakley playing in the back row again got through a tonne of work in defence and looked dangerous in possession too. After an impressive performance at Sheffield a fortnight ago Oakley again made his mark and caught the eye.

It took Salford the entire first half to finally get an attacking set in Widnes territory. They finally threatened the line but misjudged the tackle count with an early kick that gifted Widnes the possession back. 

The Viking upped the tempo in the second half. Two tries from exciting centre Joe Edge and one from substitute Ryan Brown underlined the gulf in quality between the two sides. Salford never gave up though and seemed to find some urgency in the closing stages of the game. Brad Dwyer returned off the bench for his second spell and his tireless effort to get Salford ticking provided a try for Joe Baldwin. Dwyer with a clever kick left Baldwin with the simple score from close range with just a few minutes remaining.

Widnes thoroughly deserved the victory and Salford now have a fortnight to prepare for their next match when they visit Halifax on the 24th May. Dave Hewitt is giving the players some time off to spend with their families next weekend after what has been a very tough and challenging few months for the new playing group. Halifax will be another tough test but if Hewitt can get some players back to fitness it’s an opportunity to start making progress again. 

Salford 6 Widnes 32

Paul Whiteside.

Big thanks to Steve McCormick for the photos.