Leaders St Helens had won their last 41 games at home against Salford, and a ferocious start from Paul Wellens’ side suggested they would not surrender that record.
Jack Welsby, Dodd and Percival scored in the opening 40 minutes, with Cross getting the only first-half try for the visitors.
The key moment in the game came on 44 minutes, when Percival’s late hit on Ormondroyd saw him sent off by referee Tom Grant.
Dodds’ second try, scored near the hour mark after Salford were penalised for a forward pass, put Saints 14 points clear and on track to continue their 100% start to the Super League season.
The Red Devils, however, found some belief, and took advantage as their 12-man opponents tired. MacDonald started the visitors’ comeback with a fine finish, before Atkin went over to close the gap to two points, helped by Marc Sneyd’s flawless kicking from the tee.
Cross’ second try, scored in the right corner to give Paul Rowley’s side the lead, seemed inevitable.
Despite late pressure from Saints, Salford held on to record a memorable win, their third of the Super League season.
St Helens coach Paul Wellens:
“Naturally, I’m disappointed with the result, particularly after the way we started.
“Early on, it looked as if only one team was ever going to win the game. We had Salford right where we needed them.
“But small things can become big things if you don’t nail them. We should have gone on to win the game when we went down to 12. That’s something we have done in the past.
“Regarding the red card, I need to look at it more thoroughly. We have to accept the game is going down a particular route this season. I hope we see consistency. If that’s a red card, it has to be a red card next week too.
“But we lost the game because we deserved to. I can’t fault the group in terms of effort, but we just didn’t come up with the right plays when we needed them.”
Salford coach Paul Rowley:
“To come here and break a record like that is very pleasing. We always expect to win games as a group, but we have so much respect for this great club. The result shows how committed we were.
“Our boys’ character and commitment to the cause have been fantastic all season. We deserved the victory, and I am very proud of the players and staff. The supporters were fantastic – they have got their moment.
“If we had more composure and nailed our chances, I thought we’d win by 10 points. The Saints try just after they went down to 12 men hurt us.
“We got a couple of rough calls, but this group never panicked and stayed calm. They didn’t lose their way when faced with adversity. We need to work on being more polished.
“St Helens are a physical and aggressive team, and they are very good. You have got to be good to come here and get anything out of the game. We knew this game would go the distance, and I’m proud of how we kept our cool at the death.”
St Helens: Welsby, Makinson, Blake, Percival, Bennison, Lomax, Dodd, Walmsley, Clark, Mata’utia, Whitley, Sironen, Knowles
Interchanges: Mbye, Bell, Wingfield, Delaney
Salford: Brierley, Hankinson, MacDonald, Lafai, Cross, Cust, Sneyd, Ormondroyd, Bourouh, Singleton, Stone, Watkins, Shorrocks
Interchanges: Atkin, Vuniyayawa, Wright, Hellewell
Referee: Tom Grant
