Some teething problems were inevitable as Salford City Reds made their long-awaited Barton bow.

No-one expected so many to be on the field, though.

The first game at the Salford City Stadium was supposed to mark a new dawn for the club, giving supporters a home to be proud of and the players a facility worthy of their Super League status.

Instead, the fans were outsung and the team was outplayed – by a Championship side still to appoint their new coach and also playing their first pre-season friendly.

Leigh led 18-6 after a woeful first half by Salford and although the Reds improved slightly, not even a power cut late in the second half could prevent the visitors compounding Salford’s misery.

The Centurions were so superior their fans could afford to chant ‘can we play you every week’ as they finished with seven tries to two while home fans booed their side at the final whistle.

Not exactly the house-warming they’d hoped for.

“I didn’t see that performance coming from the way we’ve been training in pre-season,” said head coach Phil Veivers.

“Leigh came out pretty hot and we were cold. We just didn’t get into the game.”

It was as if the Salford fans knew what was coming. The atmosphere was subdued among the 2,818 crowd and even the stadium announcer noted the first song at the 12,000-capacity venue was sung by Leigh.

Maybe the house-warming party has been pencilled in for their Super League opener against Castleford on February 4.

The signs were there when ex-Red Dean McGilvray scored for Leigh in the opening minutes.

And although Salford edged in front through a converted Danny Williams try, they lost new signing Shannan McPherson to  a minor groin strain.

Salford’s right-hand defence was then exposed twice in the space of five minutes with Matt Gardner claiming both tries.

Salford’s sorry completion rate prevented them getting a foothold in the game and Leigh stretched their lead before half-time Jodie Broughton unable to keep out Jonathan Pownall in the corner.

And that lead would have been even more emphatic had Martin Ridyard not missed his first three conversion attempts.

Gregg McNally passed back inside for Ryan Brierley to score the try of the match before Williams’ second try cut the deficit to 24-12 in the 57th minute.

But McNally and Brierley crossed late on to give Veivers plenty to think about ahead of next Sunday’s visit of Halifax.

“We created opportunities but the execution wasn’t there. Our defence and kicking was poor,” he said.

“We’re all disappointed but there’s three weeks to the start of the season and we’ve some hard work to do before Cas.”

Swinton Lions lost their first pre-season game 6-28 to Super League side Widnes Vikings at the Leigh Sports Village.

The Law Cup game between Oldham and Rochdale Hornets, was postponed for a second time due to a waterlogged pitch. It is now scheduled for Sunday, January 15. Tweet