Super League: Salford Red Devils 24-20 Warrington Wolves - Sam Stone earns vital extra-time win
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Salford Red Devils' Brodie Croft celebrates scoring his side's third try
Betfred Super League |
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Salford Red Devils (12) 24 |
Tries: Hellewell, Croft 2, Stone Goals: Sneyd 4 |
Warrington Wolves (6) 20 |
Tries: Nicholson, Currie, Williams Goals: Ratchford 4 |
Sam Stone kept Salford's top-six hopes alive with a winning try in extra time against play-off rivals Warrington.
Ben Hellewell and Brodie Croft's tries put Salford 12-6 up at half-time after Matty Nicholson was gifted the opener.
A Ben Currie try and Stefan Ratchford's penalty edged Warrington ahead again before Croft's second score restored Salford's lead.
George Williams again put Wolves up only for a Marc Sneyd kick to force golden point, where Stone won it.
The thrilling victory moves seventh-placed Salford equal on points with Wolves in sixth, with two games of the regular season remaining.
Before the crucial Super League game kicked off there was a minute of reflection, as all those at the AJ Bell Stadium applauded in tribute to Red Devils great and former dual-code international David Watkins, after his death at the age of 81.
Matty Nicholson's opening try for Warrington came from a fumbled catch
Nicholson was gifted the game's opening try after just two minutes, as he scooped up the loose ball and darted over after Joe Burgess badly fumbled an innocuous high kick.
Hellewell sliced through Wolves' defence to level the scores midway through the half, and a dropped ball from Ratchford close to his line allowed Croft to edge Salford ahead for the first time soon after.
The television match official denied Josh Thewlis what would have been a sensational Wolves response in the final seconds of the first half, with replays showing the winger's foot was in touch as he grounded the ball after a scintillating chase to meet a Matt Dufty kick to the corner.
Just as a fumbled catch from a high kick had gifted Warrington the opening try of the first half, a disastrous attempt from Ken Sio to deal with a straightforward bomb to the corner allowed Currie to pick up the scraps and score in similar fashion in the second period.
Croft was fortuitous in forging Salford's third try, gathering his own kick and dashing over after his grubber attempt rebounded into his path off a Warrington defender.
Williams' try under the posts had Warrington ahead for the third time, but a Sneyd penalty - which brought up 2,000 Super League points for the scrum-half - levelled scores again with five minutes of normal time remaining.
Both sides wasted opportunities to win it before the end of the 80 minutes, and again early in golden-point extra-time, before Stone linked-up with Burgess, whose brilliant break down the left edge decided the game.
The two sides both have equally important games coming up in their next fixtures, with Warrington hosting joint Super League leaders St Helens on Friday (20:00 BST), before Salford travel to another play-off rival in fifth-placed Hull Kingston Rovers on Saturday (19:30 BST).
Salford Red Devils: Brierley, Sio, Cross, Lafai, Burgess, Croft, Sneyd, Singleton, Ackers, Ormondroyd, Hellewell, Stone, Atkin.
Interchanges: Vuniyayawa, Dixon, Addy, Bourouh.
Warrington Wolves: Dufty, J Thewlis, Mata'utia, Ratchford, Ashton, Williams, Drinkwater, Mikaele, Walker, Vaughan, Currie, Nicholson, Harrison.
Interchanges: Clark, Kasiano, Dudson, Crowther.
Referee: Liam Moore.
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