Great chance goes begging

Jun 18 2001 By Chris Roberts, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Giants 24 Salford Reds 32. HOW on earth did the luckless Giants contrive to lose this match!

Coach Tony Smith's side dominated the Super League contest like no other before and were rewarded for their efforts with four good tries.

Territorially, they were on top and on the possession stakes they were also the leading authority.

By half-time, they should have been a good 18 to 20 points clear as they were without question the far better side - but they threw it all away.

And the final outcome was, unfortunately, as depressing as all the rest for this was to end in another Huddersfield Giants defeat, the 15th of the season.

But while Huddersfield deserve a certain measure of sympathy for this latest reverse, it could again be argued that they had only themselves to blame.

All five of Salford's tries were allowed to materialise as a result of initial Huddersfield errors, while defensively the Giants were again found wanting at the crucial stage.

Andy Coley and Steve Blakeley's second-half tries were, for instance, inexcusable, with the home defence opening up embarrassingly to allow them to stroll through at leisure.

Yet by that midway stage of the second half, Huddersfield really should have been out of sight.

Early bursts from revitalised full-ball Paul Reilly and back-rower David Atkins offered early hope and Chris Langley's break from an excellent Steve Molloy pass added to that promise.

But after 10 minutes the doubts again began to creep in as Bobbie Goulding's high kick to the corner was pounced upon by Stuart Littler to score in the corner.

Even though the Giants continued to look the better side, with one Martin Gleeson jinking run catching the eye, the visitors held firm.

Steve McNamara did manage to land a 14th-minute penalty, but within 10 minutes Salford had extended their lead - totally against the run of play andalmost immediately following one of Huddersfield' brightest moves.

A superb Paul Rowley break had cut the Salford defence to ribbons, but the supporting David Lomax was unable to collect his pass low down.

With Ben Kusto on his outside, a try had looked a distinct possibility.

Instead, the visitors broke downfield and within two minutes Malcolm Alker had scored behind the posts and Steve Blakeley, once a Giants signings target, added the conversion to make it 10-2.

Chris Thorman worked some magic to reduce the deficit by kicking through the defence, flicking the ball back to Mick Slicker and then collecting the return pass to jink over for a converted try three minutes later.

But when Salford were awarded a highly debatable penalty on the sixth tackle to ease further back in front, it looked ominously that again it wouldn't be the Giants' day.

And that was cruelly confirmed just a minute later.

Thorman's superb kick-off dissected the City Reds defence and gave Huddersfield a scrum deep inside the visitors' half.

On the first tackle, Thorman looked to create the opening by launching a long pass that was read by Littler who intercepted and just had enough speed to outpace the cover in an 80-plus yards romp and score.

Blakeley converted. 18-8.

Three minutes before the break, hopes among the home fans in the club's lowest crowd of the season, 2,721, were again raised when Dale Cardoza took advantage of a Kusto 40-20 to crash over.

McNamara was unable to convert, but with a six-point deficit the Giants were right back in it.

And within five minutes of the restart, the sides were back level as McNamara plunged over close to the line and then slotted over the goal.

At that stage, all the signs suggested that Huddersfield could push on to win, with Salford forced to drop-out from between their posts and Reilly and Kusto agonisingly close.

Yet, just as in the first half, Salford scored against the run of play - not once, but twice.

First, Coley strolled over in the 54th minute and four minutes later Blakeley scored in similar fashion to give the visitors a 12-point cushion.

In those four demoralising minutes, the game had swung away from the Giants.

Even though Molloy used all his strength to crash over for a 63rd-minute try, converted by McNamara, Huddersfield were unable to capitalise further.

Two minutes before the end, Rowley and Blakeley were placed on report and sin-binned, with Salford awarded the penalty which was duly converted by Francis Maloney.

It was a frustrating conclusion to another frustrating contest.

Match Facts:
Huddersfield Giants:  Reilly; Frew, Cardoza (Moxon 74mins), Gleeson, Langley; Thorman, Kusto; Molloy (Marshall 31mins, bb, rev 57mins, Walker 76mins), Rowley, Laughton (Slicker 25mins, bb rev 51mins, Slicker 74mins), Atkins, Lomax (Walker 38mins, Lomax 68mins), McNamara.
Tries - Thorman (27mins), Cardoza (38mins), McNamara (44mins), Molloy (64mins).
Goals - McNamara 4 from 5.
Sin-binned and on-report - Rowley (fighting).

Salford City Reds: Broadbent (Makin 75mins); Pinkney, Maloney, Littler, Offiah; Blakeley, Goulding; Baynes (Driscoll 18mins, Baynes 40mins, Harmon 65mins), Alker, Makin (Tassell 18mins), Hancock (Arnold 74mins), Coley, Highton.
Tries - Littler (10mins and 35mins)), Alker (24mins), Coley (55mins), Blakeley (58mins).
Goals - Blakeley 5 from 6, Maloney 1 from 1.
Sin-binned and on-report - Blakeley (fighting).

Half-time - 12-18.
Referee - Richard Silverwood (Mirfield).
Attendance - 2,721.
Scrums won - Huddersfield 8, Salford 7.
Penalties conceded - Huddersfield 11, Salford 6.
Top Huddersfield tacklers - Atkins 26, McNamara 25, Molloy 21, Laughton 20, Rowley 17, Gleeson 16.