Salford City Reds 42 St Helens 34: Saints stunned by Reds defeat

The same fixture last season produced an equally stunning 20-10 victory over the Saints, who had gone into that game on the back of eight consecutive wins. This time the Saints, having won six in a row, were desperate for two points to keep pace with leaders Wigan.

But Salford, still reeling from the mauling they received from Warrington in Edinburgh, dug deep and outscored the visitors by eight tries to six.

"It was a great response to our last game and I think we built on some of the things we did with the ball against Warrington. We looked pretty sharp in Edinburgh but just didn't get enough ball," said McRae.

"I'm delighted with the performance and it was a great two points. To beat a side like St Helens when you know they are going to keep coming at you, with the quality they've got, is a pretty special victory."

Much of the talk after the game was about Matty Smith, who scored a hat-trick against his parent club.

Smith is on a season-long loan spell with the City Reds and his Saints contract expires at the end of the current campaign.

Here, sensing he was in the shop window, he produced a dazzling display and orchestrated much of the hosts' attacking work.

"Matty was terrific," added McRae. "He's a good player, I just think it had taken him a little while to settle here."

Saints coach Mick Potter also sung the praises of the 22-year-old scrum-half.

"It's great for Matty Smith, he's had a good game," he said. "It's just one of those things, he had to go elsewhere to play if he wanted an opportunity."

Of the game, Potter added: "It was close right up until the last few minutes.

"There was a chance for us to snatch a victory, but then Salford got their try."

Salford City Reds: Fitzpatrick, Broughton, Henry, Talau, Gibson, M. Smith, Holdsworth, Boyle, Alker, Jewitt, Sibbit, Littler, Swain. Substitutes: Ratchford, J. Smith, Leuluai, Sidlow.

St Helens: Wellens, Gardner, Gidley, Foster, Lomax, Pryce, Eastmond, Graham, Cunningham, Hargreaves, Dixon, Clough, Puletua. Substitutes: Fozzard, Roby, Moore, Ashurst.

Referee: T Alibert (France).