Salford Red Devils 24 Wakefield Trinity 14 - Salford come from behind to inflict back-to-back defeats on Trinity

Krisnan Inu scored twice and kicked four goals for Salford as they gave their survival hopes a huge boost.

The Kiwi recently returned from a two-month club ban because of social media posts earlier in the season and he led the fightback to give the Red Devils back-to-back wins for the first time this year.

Wakefield were without 14 players due to suspension, injury and Covid-19 and matters were made worse for head coach Chris Chester before kick-off when Joe Westerman was forced to withdraw on the morning of the game after close members of his family tested positive for Covid-19.

Ollie Greensmith, who has spent time on loan at Doncaster, made his debut at centre. The fixture was originally set to be played on July 1 but was postponed due to an outbreak of Covid-19 in the Salford squad.

The fixture was played at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium due to Salford’s AJ Bell Stadium being unavailable due to ground maintenance and it was Trinity who quickly looked at home as they raced into a 12-0 lead.

Lee Kershaw intercepted Tui Lolohea’s pass and made a 70-metre break which laid the platform for Innes Senior to streak clear on the next play.

Wakefield doubled their lead seven minutes later when Mason Lino - who converted both of Wakefield’s tries on the night - and Liam Kay combined to send England centre Reece Lyne over the whitewash.

The introduction of former Wakefield forward Pauli Pauli gave the Red Devils the boost they needed as Morgan Escare dotted down for their first try of the night soon after.

Salford completed their comeback seven minutes before the half-time interval when Inu went over from close range and converted his own score. With chances at a premium in the second half, Lino kicked a penalty goal in the 57th minute to edge the away side back in front.

That proved Trinity’s last mark on the scoreboard as two tries in the final 15 minutes won the game for Salford.

Inu claimed his second of the night which he converted to open up a four-point lead. That advantage moved to six points when Inu added a penalty goal before Ken Sio popped up on the right edge to score the decisive try.

The victory saw Salford leapfrog Trinity into ninth with both sides having won four games each this season, although Salford have lost nine matches while Friday’s defeat was Wakefield’s 10th of the campaign.

Chester reflected: “It wasn’t the effort that let us down tonight, it was the poor execution. I have never seen so many passes go to ground or behind people. The effort was pretty good for most of the game.”

Salford Red Devils: Escare, Sio, Inu, Costello, Williams, Lolohea, Atkin, Johnson, Ackers, Ormondroyd, Livett, Lannon, Burke. Subs: Roberts, Ikahihifo, Pauli, Luckley.

Wakefield Trinity: Kay, Kershaw, Lyne, Greensmith, Senior, Miller, Lino, Arona, B. Walker, Tanginoa, Ashurst, Pitts, Batchelor. Subs: Fifita, Battye, Y. Aydin, Bowes.

Referee: Gareth Hewer (RFL).