HUDDERSFIELD head coach Rick Stone conceded that Salford deserved their 36-20 victory which ended the in-form Giants' four-match unbeaten run.

Three successive defeats had seen unfancied Salford slip down the Super League table but they ran in seven tries against the Giants to climb back up to second.

Leroy Cudjoe edged Huddersfield in front early on but Junior Sa'u, Robert Lui and Kris Welham all crossed during a dominant seven-minute period to leave the Red Devils in control.

Aaron Murphy went over before the break to give the Giants hope but four tries in 11 minutes from Gareth O'Brien, Sa'u, Greg Johnson and Ben Murdoch-Masila pushed Salford out of sight.

Huddersfield's unbeaten surge had raised hopes of finishing in the top eight but they are now only two points above ninth-placed Catalans Dragons with three games remaining before the split.

Stone admitted: "Salford were the better team, no doubt. They managed the game really well and we didn't.

"The first 20 minutes were a bit of a contest but we let them off the hook a bit with a lack of polish with our last plays.

"But Salford were pretty consistent right throughout the game. Their defence was good and they threw plenty at us in attack with a couple of 40-20s from Dobbo (Michael Dobson), which obviously helped.

"Salford kept their foot on the throat as good as anyone we've played in the last couple of weeks.

"I don't think our offence was our major issue, it was our defence. As we became more tired we became more vulnerable and they took advantage of us.

"We weren't as good as we needed to be and are extremely disappointed in how we managed ourselves. But full credit to Salford, they were a fair bit better than us."