Salford (10) 16
Tries: Ratchford 2, Myler Goals: Wilshere 2
Harlequins RL (12) 24
Tries: Williamson, Clubb, Howell, Dorn Goals: Purdham 4

Tony Clubb crossed for his fourth try of the season

Harlequins won the opening match of the Murrayfield Magic weekend with an assured second-half performance against the Salford City Reds.

After their win against Leeds last week, the London side opened the scoring through Luke Williamson.

Salford, marshalled by the excellent Richie Myler, came back into the game with two tries before half-time.

But David Howell and Luke Dorn crossed after the break to put Quins out of sight as the Reds ran out of time.

Harlequins exerted the early dominance in the first of seven games to be played in the Scottish capital this weekend and were rewarded when Williamson barged over from Danny Orr's pass.

But the Reds responded with scrum-half Myler taking control to guide his side into a 10-6 lead.

First the 18-year-old's clever grubber kick caused palpitations in the Quins defence and, as Chris Melling fumbled, stand-in stand-off Stefan Ratchford swooped to score.

Myler's boot unlocked the Quins rearguard for a second time as he touched down his own delicate nudge through for his 10th try of the season.

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But without adding the extras, Salford, nominally the home side in the fixture, saw themselves slip behind before the interval.

Centre Tony Clubb, wriggled free of a tackle in midfield and sidestepped John Wilshere before diving under the posts to put Harlequins into a 12-10 lead.

A period of Salford pressure followed the restart as they gradually pushed their way downfield, but their good work was soon undone.

After the ball was spilled in midfield and Ian Sibbit had conceded a penalty for tackling a man without the ball, they found themselves camped back on their own line.

Dorn duly drew the defence with a purposeful burst before flicking a pass inside for Howell to cross and open up an eight-point lead.

The Reds could have put themselves back into contention soon after as a flowing move ended with Robbie Paul bundled into touch by Clubb.

But after the television official had ruled the effort out, Dorn's powerful run between two defenders all but confirmed his side's victory.

Ratchford pounced for a second as Brian McDermott's side allowed their concentration to wander, but they were never going to surrender a win.

Salford coach Shaun McRae on Danny Ward's unspotted knock-on:
"It was one of the worst non-decisions ever. What staggers me is that a referee and two touch judges cannot see it.

"It's not like it was a little knock-on in the tackle. Our guys don't deserve that. I'm not suggesting that, at 18-10 we were going to win the game.

"But, at 24-10, you can't win the game. It's really hard to swallow."

Harlequins coach Brian McDermott :
"It wasn't a great performance - I didn't think we performed well.

"But we had enough defensive performances in the second half to make sure we kept Salford out."

Salford: Wilshere, Henry, Littler, Turner, Goulding, Ratchford, Myler, Cashmere, Alker, Stapleton, Parker, Adamson, Swain.
Replacements: Sibbit, Leuluai, Paul, Jewitt.

Harlequins RL: Melling, Gardner, Gafa, Howell, Sharp, Dorn, Orr, Temata, Randall, Ward, Williamson, Robinson, Purdham.
Replacements: McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Golden, Clubb, Kaye.

Referee: G Hewer (Wakefield)

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