PAUL Rowley insists his Salford Red Devils were more than worthy winners against Warrington Wolves on Sunday despite needing golden point to settle the contest.

The sides were level at 20-20 after 80 minutes in what was a crucial clash between two play-off contenders having traded three tries and a penalty goal each.

However, it was the hosts who got the crucial next score in extra time after Sam Stone supported winger Joe Burgess’ break down the left touchline to touch down and spark wild scenes of celebration among the home fans.

That came shortly after Marc Sneyd had hit the post with a drop goal attempt, with Ryan Brierley having another charged down just before the end of normal time.

“I’m sure it was good for people sat watching at home but it was very nerve-wracking for everyone sat here,” Rowley said.

“We probably won the game twice – we worked really hard for our tries but we gifted them a couple with some clean drops.

“They’re very dangerous – they’ve clearly changed the way they play and have gone back to how they played under Tony Smith, which was basically to play quick and fast so it was a different challenge defending them.

“I thought our team, on the whole, controlled the tempo of the game.

“We forced a lot of errors certainly in the first half, but we gave ourselves a problem at the start of the second half as we got a bit frantic.

“We needed to go back to a more controlled game and ultimately, we did that until all hell broke loose at the end.

“Fair play to Budgie (Joe Burgess) at the end – he’s done a job on young Thewlis and got away there.

“I’m really pleased – it’s just reward for their hard work in recent weeks under a fair bit of adversity.

“I thought we deserved to win – I thought we were the better team over the 85 minutes so I’m pleased.”

The result means Salford and Warrington are now level on 26 points with two games remaining, with The Wire ahead by virtue of a superior points difference.

The Red Devils travel to Hull KR – the other side in contention for the final two play-off spots – in another crunch game on Saturday evening, 24 hours after Warrington have hosted St Helens.

“We’ve given ourselves a chance now – we were open both internally and externally that this was a “do or die” situation for us,” Rowley said.

“We’re here and we’re fighting – it’s going to the finish line and that’s what everybody wanted.

“Everybody probably predicted a Warrington win but we’ve sat quiet under a lot of stress and done the job.

“We’re still in the race and it’s going to the finish line.”