Gutted Salford boss Paul Rowley refused to put the boot in on Marc Sneyd’s after the scrum-half’s late shocker.
The Red Devils ace, 33, turned from hero to villain as Wigan broke their hearts. He looked set to deliver his side a famous win - and put them top of the table. But after inspiring a brilliant comeback from 10-0 down to lead 12-10, Sneyd’s ill-advised short drop-out went badly wrong in the 75th minute.
It only went as far as England centre Jake Wardle who went in untouched to protect leaders Wigan’s 100 percent winning start. To make matters worse, the World Club champions were down to 12 men at the time after England scrum-half Harry Smith was sin-binned for checking Ryan Brierley. But asked what he said to man-of-the-match Sneyd, Rowley said: “My words were ‘it happens.’
“He won’t get any kicks from me. For 79 minutes he was brilliant. We’ve no dramas [with Sneyd]. He’s a great player. He’s just made one miscalculation. And he already wants to get back out there. We’re obviously disappointed.
"We don’t just want to challenge Wigan, we want to beat them. But we were masters of our own downfall. The game was there for us to win but we had a crazy 10 minutes.”
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To rub salt into the wounds, Bevan French scored another try for leaders Wigan with the final play, Adam Keighran slotting his second goal. Salford won at St Helens for the first time in 44 years six days earlier and looked set for a fourth straight win here. Wigan took a 10-0 lead after Smith converted Abbas Miski’s 46th minute try.
Salford's Ryan Brierley complains to the officials against Wigan (PA)But Sneyd’s perfect kicking set up tries for Sam Stone and Tim Lafai which he converted both times. However, Wigan gang-tackled Salford debutant David Nofoaluma to force him 10 yards back for that crucial drop-out. The depleted hosts were down to their last 17 fit and available players for this match but only trailed 4-0 at the break after Liam Marshall’s 39th minute try.
They gave debuts to Ethan Ryan and new signing Gil Dudson but relieved Wigan boss Matt Peet admitted: “When Harry got binned I must admit I thought the game might get away from us. But those extra efforts, in the end they paid off. It was a big effort to force their guy back over the line for that drop-out.
“I’m proud of it. It’s something we really celebrate. It’s an important trait: character over skill. But you have to admire how Salford play.”
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