Salford Reds 11, Bradford Bulls 10

Match Comment, by Nigel Askham.

Matthew Elliott has stood firm behind his players in very trying circumstances recently. But even he must be having major doubts now as the Bulls' spluttering season took another turn for the worse.

Their fifth defeat was a big enough disappointment after a gutsy effort against Wigan, but the manner of it raised serious doubts about their ability to make the play-offs at all, never mind the top three.

Much has been made of their injury problems and no-one would doubt the unsettling effect that has had, but such excuses are wearing thin with another superb travelling support.

On paper they still had a side capable of taking care of the Reds, who had lost five on the bounce and had their own injury worries, but too many players seem to be living on past reputations, and the result was not a pretty sight.

The biggest surprise was that they were still in with a shout going into the closing stages with the sides locked at 10-10.

A combination of some interesting interpretations from referee Karl Kirkpatrick and their own inadequacies had put them on the back foot for the entire first half.

But two Steve McNamara penalties in reply to tries from Josh White and David Brad-bury at least kept them in it, courtesy of some truly awful Reds shots at goal shared between White - who did manage one - Nathan McAvoy and Paul Southern.

The Bulls certainly solved the possession problem after the break, but their lack of creativity was alarming, and Shaun Edwards paid the price with what Elliott described as a "tactical" substitution seven minutes into the half.

However, it would be unfair to single him out as key playmaker Steve McNamara failed to impose himself and skipper Graeme Bradley had another quiet afternoon before his switch infield.

More and more they are looking for a flash of individual brilliance to get them out of a hole, and the persistence of Robbie Paul finally paid off with a classy break from inside his own half which paved the way for Paul Medley to produce the finishing power off the bench they have so badly missed during his injury absence.

But sadly the killer instinct which got them out of so many scrapes on their way to the title last season just wasn't there.

Instead panic set in, and there was no-one to take a controlling hand.

The kicking game again went to pieces when it mattered, and Reds man of the match White showed them the way to give Salford the position from which Mark Lee dropped the match-winning point 11 minutes from time.

Even then there was chance to at least get back on terms, but it would really have been an injustice had a well-drilled Reds outfit been denied.

Looking through the Bulls side, they were few to emerge with much credit, although Stuart Spruce, Paul, youngster Stuart Fielden and Mike Forshaw tried manfully to give them some momentum.

But confidence is very low just now and it showed throughout.

A couple of instances highlighted the current malaise. A first half penalty deep in Reds territory was wasted on the first half-tackle as Paul and Bernard Dwyer got in an awful tangle for Kirkpatrick to rule a forward pass.

Then six points in arrears, they decided to run a distinctly kickable penalty and another key opportunity was wasted.

At this rate, next month's mid-season break can't come quickly enough.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.