Salford Red Devils' Ian Watson 'devastated' by Challenge Cup defeat
Salford coach Ian Watson was left “devastated” by his side’s Coral Challenge Cup final loss to Leeds Rhinos.
The Red Devils hit back from 6-0 and 12-6 behind to lead 16-12 in the final quarter, but were eventually beaten by Luke Gale’s drop goal four minutes from time.
Watson said: “It is devastating to lose it.
“There were small margins in the game and there were certain things we could have done better.
“It will sting, it already is. We have got some players right at the back end of their career - Mark Flanagan, Kris Welham, even Kev Brown’s not getting any younger - and Krisnan Inu as well.
“You don’t know when or whether you are going to be here again.
“It was important for us to take that opportunity, but Leeds have got the win and we congratulate them on that.
“We have got to move now and focus on the rest of the season and finish the season well.”
Watson felt it “wasn’t a great game, by any stretch of the imagination”.
He said: “I thought it was kind of ground down in the end.
“I thought we opened them up a lot in attack, but we weren’t composed enough with the final pass.
“We were trying to find kicks to score tries off, rather than being a bit patient and turning them over on their try line. We weren’t smart enough at times.”
Check back later and see Monday’s Yorkshire Evening Post for more analysis, reaction and pictures.