Salford RLFC suffered a heartbreaking 22-20 defeat to Barrow Raiders after Brad Walker’s late penalty secured the two points for the visitors at the CorpAcq Stadium.
A nail-biting finish saw Dave Hewitt’s side pile the pressure on Barrow in the closing stages, but the Raiders held firm to claim victory.
Tries from Owain Abel, Keane Gilford and Oli Garmston were ultimately not enough, but another spirited performance highlighted the progress being made by Hewitt’s young side.
First half:
Strong defence in the opening five minutes from Salford forced Barrow to hand us possession from Joseph Bullock’s carry.
A great take from Kieran Dixon, 20 metres from Salford’s try-line, ended up providing us with a six again.
A brilliant, energetic carry from Owain Abel, 10 metres out, put Salford ahead, meaning the makeshift stand-off had now scored in back-to-back games for the first time at Salford.
Kieran Dixon converted the kick to put Salford 6-0 ahead inside eight minutes.
Superb goal-line defence from us forced Barrow’s Joe Bullock into mis-handling the ball, denying what looked like a certain try.
The Reds were penalised for offside five metres from our try-line on the quarter-hour mark.
After withstanding 20 minutes of intense pressure from Paul Crarey’s side, they eventually broke through as Luke Cresswell scored down their left edge.
Brad Walker converted the kick to level the game for the Raiders.
A kick from the right edge played Luke Broadbent into space on the left wing, but he was denied by a fantastic try-saving tackle from Dixon 40 metres out.
The momentum continued for Dave Hewitt’s side, as a well-worked piece of play down the left edge freed up Keane Gilford to go over in the left corner.
Another successful conversion from Salford’s number one put us six points ahead with 14 minutes remaining in the first half.
Both Brad Dwyer and Brad Walker were sent to the sin bin immediately after the conversion.
But that did not affect Salford’s powerful attacking play, with Oli Garmston touching down for our third try of the afternoon.
Dixon converted his third straight kick to put the score at 18-6 with seven minutes of the half remaining.
After constant quick play from Barrow, they eventually reaped the rewards on the left wing as Broadbent scored in the far-left corner.
Ryan Johnston took over the kicking duties from the sin-binned Walker, as the away side showed they were not going anywhere.
Second half:
Seven minutes into the second half, the Raiders received a seven-tackle set after our kick on the last went dead behind the in-goal area.
Captain Dwyer regained possession 15 metres from our try-line after a Barrow surge.
Salford moved the ball out to the right wing, where Callum Green opted to kick from 20 metres out from the Barrow try-line, but the ball bounced dead behind the in-goal area, handing the visitors another seven-tackle set.
A crucial hold-up from Joe Hartley denied Barrow a try, but they didn’t have to wait long, as one minute later Broadbent crossed on the left for his second try of the game.
Walker converted the kick as the Cumbrians levelled the game with 22 minutes remaining.
A Raiders handling error gifted us possession, and Hewitt’s side opted to take the two points through Dixon from the 20-metre mark, restoring our lead three-quarters of the way through the game.
The Salford barrage of attacks continued through Toby Hughes’s grubber kick on the last tackle, which led to the visitors spilling the ball as we regained possession.
The Reds’ pressure did not stop, as Cole Oakley was tackled two metres short of the try-line on the last tackle, with Salford searching for a crucial try.
Another last-tackle kick from Dwyer came close to unlocking the Raiders’ goal-line defence, but the ball was kicked dead, resulting in Salford restarting with the ball 10 metres out.
Barrow tried to counter quickly through the pace of Broadbent, but a pack of Reds quickly closed him down and forced a knock-on.
Dwyer went off with seven minutes remaining for a head injury assessment and was replaced at hooker by Joe Baldwin.
Alfie Leake stretched for the try-line but spilled the ball following an important tackle from Crarey’s side.
The away team capitalised by earning a penalty, which they kicked into touch beyond halfway.
Barrow levelled the game once again thanks to a Walker penalty goal from 30 metres out on the right-hand side.
Jack Bibby was penalised with two minutes to go, the Raiders again opted for goal, and Walker successfully kicked the penalty from 40 metres out with two minutes remaining.
A late kick from Hughes was intercepted on Barrow’s try-line, meaning the Raiders claimed the two points at the CorpAcq Stadium.
Daniel Burton
