Adam Clay scored two tries on his Salford debut in their convincing 34-16 victory over Harlequins at The Stoop.
The home side led inside two minutes through Mike Burnett, but Clay's two tries gave Salford a four-point lead.
Wayne Godwin, Luke Patten and Chris Nero all went over as the visitors went to the break with a 22-4 advantage.
Luke Ambler and Chris Melling scored second-half tries for Harlequins, with Iafeta Paleaaesina and Vinnie Anderson going over for Salford in between.
Early pacesetters Harlequins have now lost seven of their last eight matches, while Salford ease above their hosts in the Super League table.
Quins began in fine style with Luke Gale's long floating pass enabling Burnett to go over in the corner.
I think this win sends out a real message - not just to everyone else but to ourselves
Stand-in Salford coach Phil Veivers
Clay, who was Salford's senior academy player of the year in 2010, then went close to a debut try minutes later but was bundled into touch by Melling.
But the 21-year-old did not have to wait long for his first points for Salford as he wriggled out of a couple of tackles to touch down.
Clay scored his second try on 22 minutes, beating off the attention of David Howell to give Salford the lead.
The visitors then hit Quins with three unanswered tries.
Godwin burrowed over from close range, Patten stepped inside after some weak tackling and Nero streaked clear following a fortuitous charge down of Holdsworth's kick.
Salford's 18-point half-time lead was cut when Ambler went over under the sticks, but they were soon on the board again when Paleaaesina's hotly disputed try was awarded by the video referee.
Paleaaesina looked to have fallen short when he went to ground the ball, but the officials felt otherwise.
Holdsworth booted a penalty and Anderson added a further try, racing clear after intercepting Howell's loose pass.
Melling did score Harlequins' third try of the night but it was merely a consolation.
Harlequins coach Rob Powell: "Confidence is easy to build but it is also easy to let it slip and we are a team without confidence at the minute.
"My challenge is to get the team back to what it was at the start of the season. You would not believe it is the same group of players who did so well in the first five weeks.
"We lacked energy and it was probably our worst home display. The players know what needs to be done and they practise well, but they go out there and don't do it.
Caretaker Salford coach Phil Veivers: "It was a huge win for us. This win sends out a real message - not just to everyone else but to ourselves.
"We wanted to toughen up and we needed to put in a performance.
"I thought we were excellent in the first half. We scored some good tries and put ourselves in a position to win. We let things slip a little bit after the break but we still had enough to see it through."
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