Salford RLFC were beaten 38-4 by Barrow Raiders in appalling conditions at Craven Park.
But Back-row Ollie Garmston exploited a gap in Barrow’s defence eight minutes from time to score Salford’s first try since the club’s rebirth.
Trailing 28-0 at the interval, Mike Grady’s men rallied in the second half and deservedly avoided being whitewashed.
Barrow took the lead inside the opening five minutes when neat interplay between stand-in captain Luke Cresswell and Curtis Teare opened up space for Cresswell to touch down, leaving Brad Walker to kick the first of five conversions.
The home side added a second three minutes later when Tee Ritson latched onto the end of a Luke Broadbent pass and weaved through in the corner.
Barrow went 16-0 ahead after 13 minutes when a kick forward caused havoc in the Salford defence and winger Dan Knott capitalised on the indecision to touch down and Walker converted.
Salford rallied and had a sustained spell of pressure that ended with Deacon Connolly losing the ball a yard out from the try line.
And they were punished for their wastefulness by a ruthless Barrow side when quick hands released Josh Wood to score before Greg Richards added a fifth try two minutes before the break.
Lively second-row Charlie Emslie forced his way over from close range to extend Barrow’s lead nine minutes after half-time before the home side manufactured an overload, allowing Broadbent to cross in the corner.
But Salford’s 500-plus travelling supporters were sent into raptures after 72 minutes when Garmston weaved his way through a gap and forced his way over the line to score the first-ever league points for the new club.
The cold, windy conditions did little to dampen the spirits of Salford’s noisy away contingent, who were sent home happy having seen the new side score.
Salford RLFC resume their Challenge Cup campaign against Super League side Hull FC on Friday night, 7pm kick-off.
