Salford City Reds edge out Celtic Crusaders

www.leagueunlimited.com

SALFORD CITY REDS 24 CELTIC CRUSADERS 22

Salford City Reds remain top of the Co-operative National League One table after beating Celtic Crusaders 24-22 in a very entertaining and competitive match at The Willows on Thursday night.

The Welsh side were outscored five tries to four but they were never out of the match, the scores were close enough to earn them a bonus point and they were unfortunate not to have scored a fifth try in the last minute that would have won them the game.

Crusaders took the lead after only four minutes. Neale Wyatt picked up a stray pass from Neil Budworth at dummy half and the loose forward used his strength to weave through and force his way over the line. Lennon converted.

It was 12-0 in as many minutes as Crusaders scored their second try with a perfect move on the final tackle of a set. Jace Van Dijk lobbed the ball superbly into the goal area and Damien Quinn outran all the Salford backline and caught the ball well to score under the sticks. Welsh international Lennon had no problems adding the extras.

There could have been a further try straight from kick-off but Stuart Littler intercepted Budworth