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ANDREW Brocklehurst shows the sort of steely-eyed determination that saw Salford run away from Oldham in the second half.
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Salford City Reds 40 Oldham Roughyeds 12
Dave Lawrenson14/ 2/2008
THIS game should do Salford the world of good. The new-look Reds need to be tested as they build up to the start of the National League One campaign and, somewhat surprisingly, they were tested on Friday night.
League Two Oldham may have a pitiful budget in comparison with the Reds. But they put their heart and soul into Friday’s Northern Rail Cup clash and arguably looked the better side in the first half.
Salford needed to show their mettle after the break. They may have a squad that, on paper, looks good enough to compete at Super League level. But talent counts for very little unless you can roll up your sleeves and battle through adversity.
Thankfully, when the chips were down Salford delivered. They moved swiftly up through the gears in the second half to firmly put Oldham in their place.
But the final scoreline flattered the Reds and there is clearly a lot for them to work on in training.
Top of the agenda must be their fielding of kicks with Mat Gardner and Paul White guilty of clangers on Friday.
And the Reds need to improve their on-line defence with all four of the tries that they have conceded this season coming from close range lapses.
However, there were more positives than negatives to come out of Friday’s game, which saw the Reds move two points clear at the top of their cup group.
The Reds were missing speedster Karl Fitzpatrick but they still looked full of strike power both out wide and down the middle for the majority of the game.
Stuart Littler was bang in form, putting in an all action display which was capped off by a hat-trick of tries out wide. And his fellow centre James Jiminez again showed himself to be a class act, delighting the 4,224 crowd with several moments of jaw-dropping skill.
Phil Leuluai and Craig Stapleton provided more evidence to suggest that they will be the most effective prop pairing in the National League this season.
John Wilshere and Richard Myler continued to look a well balanced half back combination. Gardner and White displayed their electrifying try scoring ability when given space to run into and young gun Andy Ballard underlined the fact that he is a first class goal kicker by knocking over six of his seven conversion attempts.
Team: White; Gardner, Littler, Jiminez, Ballard; Wilshere, Myler; Leuluai, Alker, Stapleton, Sibbit, Brocklehurst, Turner. Subs used: Highton, Borgese, Jewitt, Bannister. Tries: Jiminez, White, Littler (3), Turner, Gardner. Goals: Ballard (6).
Click on the video window to see match highlights and the post-match reactions of coaches Shaun McRae and Steve Deakin ...
Got an opinion you want to share?Should less emphasis be placed on the results of tests and more emphasis on general education for children?
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