Big Match Cup Fever

It’s Challenge Cup Quarter Final week this weekend and the Reds are looking to book a semi-final spot agianst the Giants at the Galpharm Stadium on Sunday.

We take a look at previous meeting between the two and build up to the game over the next few days.

HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS v SALFORD CITY REDS

Salford City Reds have not won at Huddersfield Giants since 2001 when they had a 32-24 Super League victory. The only Salford survivors from that match are Stuart Littler (2 tries), Andy Coley (1 try), Malcolm Alker (1 try) and Paul Highton. Since then Salford have lost on all five trips to Huddersfield, including 32-18 a few weeks ago. Alker and Highton also played when Salford won 22-14 at Huddersfield the last time the two teams met in the Challenge Cup, in 1999.

Last semi-final appearance

Huddersfield

v St. Helens Lost 6-46 Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington 2004

Salford

v Sheffield E. Lost 18-22 Headingley, Leeds1998

Reds Draw Giants in Cup Quarter Final

Salford City Reds have been drawn against Huddersfield Giants at the Galpharm Stadium in the Quarter Final of this season’s Powergen Challenge Cup.

Karl Harrison’s men will be lookng to avenge their worst performance of the season a few weeks back in the tie which is scheduled to be played the weekend of 2-4 June.

Leeds v Harlequins

Hull KR v Warrington

Huddersfield v Salford

St Helens v Catalans Dragons

Reds Welcome Little Dasha From Chernobyl

Salford City Reds made a special presentation to seven-year-old Dasha Siamionava from Belarus and the family looking after her in Salford for a month, Julie and Mark Frith and their daughters at the recent home tie against Wakefield.

Dasha comes from the Chernobyl region of the country where life expectancy is greatly reduced due to the nuclear disaster in 1986

Dasha spent four weeks in the city as part of a scheme with charity group Friends of Chernobyl’s Children and came to see the Reds beat the Wildcats.

Friends of Chernobyl’s Children is a registered charity which devotes its energies to raising funds to bring children, who are at risk, from Belarussia to the United Kingdom for a month every year. The charity targets children from orphanages or disadvantaged homes, aged between six and thirteen. These children are in great need and come from social situations that make it difficult for them to get the care they require at home.

For further information on how you can get involved with the Friends of Chernobyl’s Children click HERE

Impress Harrison Before Noble, Reds Told

Salford City Reds are just hours away from their Powergen Challenge Cup showdown with Wigan Warriors at The Willows (Friday 8pm).

Wigan may be rock bottom of Super League but the Reds will not be looking to help them kick-start their season with a vital Cup win.

At Thursday’s pre-match Willows press conference Head Coach Karl Harrison was quick to play down any pressure on his side after a few losses.

“We were awful last week at Huddersfield and deserved to lose, but we were in a winning position at Castleford and we should have beaten Leeds and St Helens. There is no drama here.”

Harrison is also aware that some of his players may feel they have a point to prove to GB and Wigan coach Brian Noble:

“They’ve got a perfect chance to show the Great Britain coach what they’re about.

“We see them week in, week out and because we’ve not been in so many big games over the past few years possibly they have been overlooked.

“If you want to play for your country, you have to play well in big games and it’s up to these guys to do it but let’s not forget, it’s me they have to impress tomorrow. Not Brian Noble!”

Ian Sibbit, Gareth Haggerty and Sean Rutgerson are all set to play with only Andrew Brocklehurst missing out from the loss at The Galpharm.

Now for your bit! We need all our fans out in force, singing their hearts out to roar the lads into the next round, bring as many as you can to the game for what is guarenteed to be a memorable night.

Salford City Reds v Wigan Warriors, The Willows, Friday May 19 2006

Salford 18-man squad: Fitzpatrick, Hodgson, Moule, Dunemann, Robinson, Coley, Alker, Finnigan, Sibbit, Charles, Highton, Wilshere, Haggerty, Littler, Myler, Baldwin, Brocklehurst, Clayton.

Wigan 18-man squad: Ashton, Dallas, Fletcher, Godwin, Goulding, Hargreaves, Higham, Logan, Moran, O’Loughlin, Orr, Paleaaesina, Richards, Seu Seu, Tickle, Tomkins, Vaealiki, Hock.

Referee: P Bentham

Reds Ready for Cup Assault

Salford City Reds are just a couple of days away from their Powergen Challenge Cup showdown with Wigan Warriors at The Willows (Friday 8pm).

Wigan may be rock bottom of Super League but the Reds will not be looking to help them kick-start their season with a vital Cup win.

We need all our fans out in force, singing their hearts out to roar the lads into the next round.

Football Director Steve Simms said: “It should be a good game and we have quite a few guys with a point to prove on Friday.”

Remember tickets are reduced by a minimum of 10% as long as you purchase them before the end of Thursday.

Salford 20-man: Fitzpatrick, Hodgson, Moule, Stewart, Dunemann, Robinson, Coley, Alker, Rutgerson, Finnigan, Sibbit, Charles, Highton, Wilshere, Haggerty, Littler, Myler, Baldwin, Brocklehurst, Clayton.

Wigan 20-man: Ashton, Brown, Dallas, Fletcher, Godwin, Goulding, Hargreaves, Higham, Hock, Logan, Moran, O’Loughlin, Orr, Paleaaesina, Prescott, Richards, Seu Seu, Tickle, Tomkins, Vaealiki.

Ref P Bentham

In Memory – Derek ‘Taffy’ Jones

The club has just learned that much-loved former groundsman Derek Lloyd Jones, affectionately known as ‘Taffy’ has sadly passed away on Wednesday after a battle with long-term illness.

Taffy joined the club from Wigan and stayed tending The Willows pitch for more than seven years before retiring to his homeland of Wales just before Christmas.

All at Salford City Reds would pass on our deepest condolances to Sheila, Taffy’s wife and all his family at this most difficult time.

A minutes silence will be held before the fixture between Derek’s two former clubs next Friday 19 May.

UPDATE: The Funeral will be held on Thursday at 1.30 at St Andrews, Mort Street, Wigan. 2.30 Wigan Crematorium.

Donations to Christies Hospital or St David’s Hospice, Llandudno.

Rest in Peace Taff.

New Ticket Service Launches

Today sees the launch of our up to the minute Ticket Information service – available from the main homepage, this will be your first port of call when you need to know when tickets are available, where they are available from, how much they cost and when they go off-sale. You’ll also find details of any pre-purchase promotions that we’re running (watch out for a big announcement relating to the Harlequins game soon) and, more importantly, when those promotions will end – so no more turning up at the ticket office on match day and moaning that you thought the offer was still on!

For now the service is online only, but we’re also planning a recorded information phone line, as well as 24 hour telephone booking to complement the online ticket sales. It’s exciting times here at Salford City Reds, and we’re all working hard to improve our levels of service in order to make your Reds Experience as pleasurable as possible.

And this is where you can help us out a bit.

As you may or may not be aware, when we sell tickets for an away game Salford City Reds receives 10% of the ticket price – so if you buy a £15 adult ticket then £1.50 comes into the coffers of YOUR club. If you pay on the turnstile then we get nothing, and the only people that benefit are the opposition! Now £1.50 may not sound a lot, but when you add up all of the travelling Red army and multiply it by 14 away games then it’s quite a tidy sum that could (and will) be reinvested in the Reds to make us more successful both on and off the field. The ball is now rolling, so why not help us along with a little extra push by buying your away match tickets through the Reds?

One final thing – remember that the ticket office is always open for half an hour after a home match, selling tickets for future games, so what better time to pick up yours than when you’re already here?

And that just about covers everything for now. As you’ll see on the Latest Ticket Information page, we’re currently selling tickets for the Huddersfield game this Sunday, and Wigan next Friday – all prices and details are over there, so get clicking!

Harrison Backs His Stars

England coach Karl Harrison has criticised his old boss Brian Noble for snubbing his Salford players when naming his Great Britain squad. Harrison was speaking at the morning’s pre-match press conference at The Willows

Noble has included eight uncapped players among his 36 for next month’s Test match against New Zealand but has ignored representatives of the high-flying Reds.

“From a personal point of view I am pleased that Brian Noble is looking after us by not selecting any of my players,” said Harrison.

“It means there are no extra training sessions or extra games.

“But there are some of my players who can consider themselves really unlucky. Simon Finnigan is probably the top back-rower in the competition.

“David Hodgson is among the top wingers in Super League and Andy Coley and Malcolm Alker were worth a shout, as is Karl Fitzpatrick with only one full-back in the squad.

“They have just got to keep performing and make Brian Noble change his mind, which perhaps we will do when we knock his team Wigan out of the Challenge Cup.”

Salford 18-man squad: Fitzpatrick, Hodgson, Moule, Dunemann, Robinson, Coley, Alker, Rutgerson, Finnigan, Charles, Wilshere, Haggerty, Littler, Myler, Baldwin, Brocklehurst, Clayton, Adamson.

Wakefield 18-man squad: Halpenny, Demetriou, Whittle, Tadulala, Jeffries, Obst , Griffin, March, Korkidas, Solomona, Betham, White, Wrench, Rooney, MacGillivray, Buchanan, Saxton, Atkins.

Referee: P Taberner