Salford 38-4 Wakefield: Red Devils east past Trinity with impressive Super League victory
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 20/04/18 11:37pm
Salford recorded back-to-back Betfred Super League wins for the first time this season thanks to a hugely impressive 38-4 win over Wakefield Trinity at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Winger Jake Bibby scored two of Salford's seven tries as they ran away with the game in the second half, building on a narrow 8-0 interval lead.
This was all the more impressive since they lost playmaking half-back Robert Lui - who had limped off injured just before half-time.
Salford were helped by the 47th-minute sin-binning of Wakefield centre Reece Lyne. With Wakefield down to 12 men, Salford scored 12 points to take the game beyond the reach of Chris Chester's team who last week ended a five-game losing run with victory over leaders St Helens.
The hosts made the perfect start with a try after only 90 seconds. A break from George Griffin put Wakefield on the back foot and the ball was worked quickly to the left edge by Lui and Mark Flanagan before centre Junior Sa'u powered over for a try which Lui converted.
Trinity responded positively and enjoyed plenty of possession within sight of the Red Devils tryline but they were unable to find a way through a determined defence.
The home side were not without their chances and - in the 17th minute - Bibby was held up over the tryline as he looked to touch down in the corner.
Lui kicked a 31st-minute penalty following Scott Grix's high shot on Josh Wood to edge Salford 8-0 ahead. But Lui was forced off with a leg injury just before the break - forcing the Red Devils to reorganise.
Despite that, Salford were next to score seven minutes after the restart and they went on to dominate the half.
Niall Evalds - making his 100th Salford appearance - caught out the Wakefield defence with a quickly-tapped penalty and raced 60 metres before being hauled down by Lyne who was then sin-binned for lying on.
Tyrone McCarthy kicked the penalty and moments later he scored Salford's second try of the game, barging over from close range after Craig Kopczak had gone close. McCarthy also added the conversion as Salford led 16-0.
Things got even better for Ian Watson's side when a kick to the corner was missed by the Trinity defence and Ryan Lannon was quickest to react and touch down.
Wakefield finally got on the scoreboard in the 55th minute when Joe Arundel cut through from 10 metres but Liam Finn failed in his attempt to add the conversion.
This proved a minor setback for Salford, who scored again just a few minutes later. Winger Bibby produced a flying finish in the corner from Kris Welham's pass to make it 24-4 with McCarthy again off target with the goal.
With 12 minutes remaining, Griffin forced his way in from close range for his first try of the season and Jack Littlejohn added the conversion.
Bibby and Greg Johnson added further unconverted tries in the closing minutes to complete the rout.
