Leigh 22-36 Salford: Super League report & reaction from Magic Weekend

Match stats: Leigh 22-36 Salford

Leigh tries: Fleming (7), Brown (19), Crooks (48), Dawson (63)
Conversions: Drinkwater (7, 20, 49)

Salford tries: Murdoch-Masila (9, 22), Welham (25), Johnson (33, 66), Evalds (56)
Conversions:  O'Brien (16, 23, 26), Dobson (33, 59, 75)

Match report

Salford condemned 12-man Leigh to an eighth successive Betfred Super League defeat with a 36-22 victory that enabled them to climb into second place.

Second rower Ben Murdoch-Masila continued his rich vein of form with two tries, taking his tally for the year to 10 in just nine appearances, as the Red Devils eased to an eighth win from their last nine matches.

It was a Magic Weekend debut to forget for Leigh winger Adam Higson who became the seventh player to be sent off in the event for a high tackle on Salford full-back Gareth O'Brien.

That came at a crucial time in the match, with Salford clinging to a 24-18 lead, and proved costly for the Centurions, who are in danger of being cut adrift in the bottom two.

Yet Leigh were good value for their early 12-6 lead set up by tries from centre Matty Fleming, who was making his debut after joining the club on loan from St Helens, and full-back Mitch Brown, both converted by Josh Drinkwater.

Murdoch-Masila demonstrated the threat he poses when close to the line as he forced his way over for his first try in the ninth minute and took stand-off Robert Lui's short pass to go through a gap for his second midway through the first half that levelled the scores.

The Centurions played with plenty of spirit but could not match the cutting edge of their opponents, who scored two more tries in an eight-minute spell to establish a hold on the game.

Centre Kris Welham sliced through the Leigh defence for his sixth try of the season and winger Greg Johnson finished off a flowing move to grab his side's fourth of the half, with Michael Dobson kicking his third goal.

Leigh forward Danny Tickle managed to reach the Salford line just before half-time without being able to ground the ball but the Centurions were right back in the game seven minutes into the second half when centre Ben Crooks cut a superb line to cross for their third try.

Drinkwater's third goal cut the deficit to just six points and it might have disappeared altogether had stand-off Ryan Hampshire been able to add a fourth try but he lost his grip on the ball as he attempted to put it down over the line.

It proved to be Leigh's last chance for they were reduced to 12 men after 55 minutes when Higson was shown a red card for a high tackle on O'Brien and a minute later Salford made good use of their numerical advantage by working winger Niall Evalds over for their fifth try.

Winger Matty Dawson gave Leigh a glimmer of renewed hope when he crossed for a 63rd-minute effort but Johnson clinched the victory with his second try and Dobson wrapped up the scoring with a penalty.

Match reaction

Leigh coach Neil Jukes on the dismissal of winger Adam Higson.

"It was a straight red.

"It didn't help, that's for sure. It made the task a lot more difficult.

"What also didn't help was our completion rate. At fifty-odd per cent completion rate, when they were at nearly ninety, we don't help ourselves.

"Every time we scored a try, we backed it up on the next set with an error,

"I don't think we had the rub of the green. When the margins are really close, you need a bit of luck and we didn't get much today."

Salford coach Ian Watson: "Every week is a big one but it's pleasing to come here to the Magic Weekend and pick the two points up because it's a big occasion.

"It's a derby and we expected Leigh to turn up. We fell off some of the things we pride ourselves in which probably made the score in the second half slightly closer than it needed to be.

"But the boys are an honest group and they will know that and they will fix it up because every game is becoming bigger and bigger the higher we sit in the table."