91Èȱ¬

Salford Red Devils came from behind to earn only their second win in 12 games at the expense of Catalans Dragons.

Dragons led by two points at the break through goals from Scott Dureau and tries by Remi Casty and Louis Anderson.

Salford, for whom Niall Evalds and Michael Dobson scored in the first half, took the lead with six minutes remaining through Dobson's second try.

The Red Devils, under the charge of stand-in coach Ian Watson, kept their slim Super 8s hopes intact.

Salford coach Iestyn Harris missed the game because of illness, though question marks remain over his future with the club.

Salford are 11th in the table, three points off eighth placed Hull FC, while Catalans have 20 points and are occupying seventh spot.

The home side, who offered free admission to fans, got off to a terrible start as Casty went over from close range before Anderson powered his way through to open up a 12-0 lead.

But Evalds eventually broke the Catalans defence with a superb run to score his 11th try of the season and Josh Griffin added the conversion.

The Red Devils got a second try when Krisnan Inu dropped Dobson's high kick and the scrum-half followed up to touch down in the corner, with Griffin landing the conversion to level the scores, but Catalans were ahead at half time thanks to a Dureau penalty.

The second period was evenly matched with both sides failing to create chances in difficult conditions.

Salford won it when Evalds supplied Mason Caton-Brown inside his own half and the winger ran clear to send the supporting Dobson over for his second try.

Salford acting coach Ian Watson:

"I'm really pleased with the win. We started tentatively but showed great character.

"It's been an interesting week with everything going on and it came out of the blue when I was told on Thursday.

"Tim Sheens is over this week but Iestyn is still the head coach and I have kept in touch with him. Iestyn will perhaps be pleased with a little bit of a break because it does get to you.

"He has handled it really professionally and wished the boys all the best. It will be tough but it's still not impossible for us to make the top eight."

Catalans coach Laurent Frayssinous:

"It was a poor game from both teams. The conditions didn't help but it was scrappy.

"We didn't respect the ball and our game management was poor as was our kicking.

"We weren't smart enough in some areas and there are big areas for improvement. But I'm not worried about the top eight. We will definitely finish in the top eight."

Salford: Evalds, Jones-Bishop, Sa'u, J. Griffin, Caton-Brown, Fages, Dobson, Taylor, Tomkins, A. Walne, Hansen, Hauraki, G. Griffin.

Replacements: Hood, Krasniqi, D. Griffin, J. Walne.

Catalans Dragons: Gigot, Inu, Garcia, Pomeroy, Yaha, Robin, Dureau, Lima, Henderson, Casty, Whitehead, Anderson, Baitieri.

Replacements: Elima, Mounis, Bousquet, Maria.