Super League: Rangi Chase leads Salford past Castleford
Castleford lost their perfect Super League record as Rangi Chase inspired Salford to a 23-16 win at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Last Updated: 23/03/14 5:47pm
Chase landed the man of the match award after setting up two tries for Andrew Dixon and slotting over a late drop goal which put the Red Devils out of range of their opponents.
The stand-off, who was back after recovering from the calf injury he sustained on the opening weekend of the season, was jeered by the travelling fans every time he touched the ball but made light of the hostile reception.
Salford led 10-6 at half-time and held on to win an entertaining contest despite Castleford rallying late through tries from Weller Hauraki and Luke Dorn.
The hosts started well and swept ahead after only four minutes with Tommy Lee and Tim Smith combining to send Martin Gleeson over for his first try of the campaign.
The Red Devils made it 10-0 after 18 minutes with Lee, Smith, Jake Mullaney and Gleeson handling smartly for Greg Johnson to touch down, with Mullaney tagging on the conversion.
But Castleford hit back with Dorn supplying the pass for Justin Carney to blast over and Marc Sneyd, who is on loan from Salford, added the goal.
Disallowed
Daryl Clark's running from dummy-half was causing Salford problems and the Red Devils were relieved when referee James Child disallowed a Dorn try for a forward pass from sub Jake Webster to leave the hosts in the lead at half-time.
And Salford extended their advantage two minutes after the restart when a beautifully-timed pass from Chase put in Dixon with Mullaney's goal making it 16-6.
Both sides then saw almost certain tries go begging as Castleford's Richard Owen spilled a pass from Hauraki with the line open before an obstruction by Adam Milner on Theo Fages prevented Salford from scoring.
Milner was yellow-carded and the Red Devils took immediate advantage with Chase and Mullaney involved in the build-up to Dixon's second try, which extended their advantage to 22-6.
But Clark caught Salford napping after Smith conceded a penalty and the hooker's opportunism and darting burst allowed Hauraki to cross in the corner.
Castleford had their full complement of 13 players restored when Dorn cut inside Mullaney at pace to score a sparkling try under the posts, with Sneyd's conversion cutting the deficit to six points with 10 minutes left.
Chase then dropped in with his one-pointer to give Salford a seven-point cushion and it proved vital as the Tigers piled on the pressure in the closing stages.