Tommy Makinson’s double gives Saints a narrow win over Salford Red Devils

Two Tommy Makinson goals saved St Helens after they narrowly beat Salford Red Devils 14-10.

Tries from Ben Davies, and Jack Welsby helped them respond to early first-half tries from Salford’s Morgan Escare.

Matty Costello levelled things up just after the break but up stepped Makinson. His two kicks gave Saints a much-needed win on a night which did see both teams at the top with Saints, Wigan and Catalan Dragons winning.

It wasn’t plain sailing for the reigning champions. Just like last week, a brave Salford Red Devils came out battling but only just missed out on what would have been a fantastic win for Paul Rowley’s side

Both sides came into the game looking to bounce back from defeats last week. A young St Helens side was swept aside by Castleford Tigers whereas Salford lost out narrowly to Wigan.

The senior Saints were called up for this game however after a hectic Easter Schedule, Salford were weaker from last week with many key faces missing.

It was the Red Devils who started the brighter and opened the try-scoring. Following a great move to the right, Escare found space to burst into and run all the way over the whitewash.

The champions responded; however, similarly to the Salford try, Davies had space to run into and quickly burst over to give a foot in the game.

Another try soon came as the Saints started to get in their stride. A defensive mix up at the back did see the ball drop loose and reacting quickest was Welsby, who grabbed the ball and strolled over.

Just before the interval, a penalty on halfway presented Salford with a chance to get some ground on Saints. The two-point attempt just fell short of the mark leaving the teams divided by one try going into the second 40.

Just like in the first half, Salford scored first in the second. From a set restart on 40 metres, a move to the right found Danny Addy who burst through, Saints thought they had him wrapped up, but he found time to pass to Costello who dived over.

Saints regained the advantage 10 minutes later. A high challenge on Matty Lees resulted in a penalty for the home side on the 40-metre line. Makinson stepped up and kicked far enough to give his side the lead again.

Makinson went back-to-back, with another penalty given away by Salford providing him with the chance to repeat what he did 4 minutes earlier, kicking over from the 30-metre line and giving Saints a four-point lead.

Salford were close to levelling; Atkin stole the ball from his own half and looked to have maybe won the game for the Red Devils but chasing him was Morgan Knowles, who brought him down and ultimately saved the win for Saints.

Kristian Woolfe’s side now can look forward to the prospect of the Challenge Cup Semi-Final tie with Wigan next week at Elland Road.

Salford have a few weeks off before they host Leeds Rhinos at the AJ Bell.

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