| 2012 Round 2 St Helens scored 38 unanswered points to stave off the threat of a shock defeat and start life at their new £30million Langtree Park home with a hard-fought victory over a battling Salford City Reds outfit. A week after having their own stadium opening night ruined by Castleford Tigers, the Reds threatened to spoil Saints' party with a first away win for more than 30 years when they led 10-0 after 24 minutes. But Saints came to life in the second half with a three-try burst in eight minutes to turn the game on its head and, although well below their best, that put them top of the Stobart Super League with two wins from their first two matches. The Reds, who lost Jordan James, Sean Gleeson and Wayne Godwin to injury in their opening game, were bottom of the table without a win but deserve credit for their impressive first-half show. St Helens, who gave home debuts to overseas signings Lance Hohaia and Anthony Laffranchi, held a parade of club legends before kick-off but it was one of the absent "greats" who had the biggest impact on the first half. Sean Long, a Knowsley Road favourite for 13 seasons, has been put in charge of Salford's attack as part of his role of assistant coach and he would have been delighted with their first-half efforts. With half-backs Matty Smith, another Saints old boy, and Daniel Holdsworth pulling the strings, the Reds posed a major attacking threat. Centre Joel Moon demonstrated superb handling to carve out an opening for left ... |
