MATCH REPORT: LIONS DEFEATED IN OPENER AGAINST SALFORD

06 January 2020

Ryan Gray crossed the try line as the Lions put in a spirited display before falling to defeat against 2019 Grand Finalists Salford Red Devils.

Salford Red Devils 52 Swinton Lions 4

The Lions played their first warm up game of the 2020 season with a tough encounter against local neighbours and 2019 Grand Finalists Salford Red Devils at the AJ Bell Stadium. 

In the two side’s annual curtain raiser to the new season, Swinton’s defence was very impressive especially in the first thirty minutes and frustrated Salford attacks time after time forcing errors. Ken Sio thought he had scored on twelve minutes only to be pulled back for a knock on in the build up. The defence was eventually breached when Tui Lolohea offloaded for Kris Welham to score the opening try of the game with Krisnan Inu adding the conversion.

Five minutes they went over again when Gil Dudson span out of a tackle to score by the posts and again Inu converted.

Swinton’s first chance came on thirty-one minutes when Evalds and Lolohea managed to just stop Jack Hansen from scoring. Stuart Littler’s men were on the attack four minutes from the break but Welham intercepted a pass to race seventy metres before handing on to Sio to score but the conversion was missed. On the stroke of half time Welham went over again and Inu converted again to give his side a twenty-two point advantage at the break.

Salford added their next try two minutes after the break when Evalds scored but the conversion was missed but the full back did add a second ten minutes later when he scored on the right but again no conversion. Salford continued to pressure the Lions and the next try came on sixty-five minutes when Evalds broke the Lions defence and fed former Lion Chris Atkin, who scored under the posts and he also added the conversion. Three minutes later and another former Swinton player scored with Rhys Williams going over for a try, but again no conversion.

The full-timers were still making the Lions defence work hard and they added another try on seventy-one minutes when Ryan Lannon broke the defence and Ed Chamberlain converted this one.

The Lions had sold out their ticket allocation for the game and fans finally got their reward with three minutes left when Ryan Gray crashed in at the corner for the try, but Oscar Thomas was unable to convert. Salford topped off their victory in the final minute when Josh Johnson went over from short range and Chamberlain finished the scoring with the conversion.

Match report by Ian Rigg

SALFORD: Evalds, Sio, Welham, Sarginson, Inu, Lolohea, Atkin, Burke, Lussick, Dudson, Lannon, Greewood, Yates, McCarthy, Ikahihifo, Walker, Brown, Flanagan, Johnson, Williams, Chamberlain, Kear, Jones, Ormondroyd, Roberts

Tries: Welham (23’, 40’), Dudson (28’), Sio (36’), Evalds (42’, 52’), Atkin (66’), Williams (68’), Lannon (71’),Johnson (80’).
Goals: Inu (3/4) Chamberlain (2/3), Lolohea (0/1) Atkin (1/2)

LIONS: Butt, Lepori, Morris, Cox, Grant, Hansen, Fairclough, Bennion, Waterworth, Hatton, Lloyd, Halton, Hope, Brickhill, Jones, Brogan, Kenga, Thomas, Brown, Meadows, Gray

Try: Gray (77’)

Venue: AJ Bell Stadium       Referee: Aaron Moore      Att: 1747      Man of the Match (Peter Smethurst Trophy): Dan Sarginson

Photo credits: Peter Green and Emily Parker