Tony Smith believes Salford Red Devils edged Hull FC by executing big moments in yesterday’s 29-22 defeat.
The Black & Whites fought valiantly throughout the match, keeping some dangerous Salford moves at bay, whilst also playing a nice brand of rugby at the other end of the field.
But in the end, Hull were defeated by seven points in an end-to-end game at the Salford Stadium, as Smith insists there’s still improvements to be made in regards to his team’s execution.
“I thought it was a good, competitive game that could have gone either way, rather than one that got away. I thought they executed slightly better than us,” he said.
“They are a terrific attacking team, and they can rip you apart if you’re not on it. They were throwing everything at us.
“We’re not satisfied. We’ll go home, assess ourselves, and try to improve, but I’m certainly not going to hammer any of my players in any way, shape, or form for the efforts they put into the game, and that’s all I can really ask for.
“I just want them to turn up with that attitude again next week with some improvements in our execution.
The visitors enjoyed taking the lead twice in the first-half, thanks to tries from Jake Clifford and Jake Trueman – his first try in a Hull FC jersey.
But Salford made life difficult for the Airlie Birds with two late first-half tries, scored by Deon Cross and Ryan Brierley.
The latter, a smart kick play from a scrum on the stroke of half-time, took the Red Devils’ lead to eight points at the break, and Smith says his players need to remain focused in pivotal moments in matches.
“They certainly came up with a couple of big plays and a couple of kicking tries that made a difference. It was a lack of concentration from us on those, but they’re big plays.
“I think everyone in the stadium knew that the kick was coming from Sneydy from the scrum – everyone except from my team at that moment in time.
“There were screams from the sideline, ‘Watch the kick, watch the kick,’ and we didn’t stay switched on for that, and they did.
“Those things can make a difference – big plays and fine margins. When we concentrate and when we do our jobs precisely and execute really well, we’ll come up trumps in those close games against good teams.”
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