John Wilshere's two penalties inspired a priceless 5-2 victory for new Salford coach Shaun McRae from a dismal and low-scoring encounter in the Manchester drizzle.

The former St Helens, Gateshead and Hull coach signed a four-and-a-half year deal with the engage Super League's bottom side on Monday to become Karl Harrison's successor.

The 48-year-old's immediate goal is to keep Salford in Super League and this success in his first game in charge takes them to within a point of fellow strugglers Hull KR and Warrington.

Ubiquitous centre Wilshere landed a penalty in either half and those scores, coupled with a 66th-minute drop goal from Luke Robinson, proved just enough to see off doughty Harlequins.

Yet the size of the task ahead for McRae was at times painfully obvious, with many passes undercooked and overplayed, resulting in precious few try-scoring opportunities.

Harlequins were no better, playing their own part in an error-strewn encounter which ensured a high penalty count and left both coaches tearing their hair out.

Ultimately, however, McRae's men prevailed and can take no little encouragement from their defensive fortitude which laid the platform for their hard-earned success.

That only Wilshere's penalty separated the sides when the half-time hooter sounded said everything about the commitment of both sides.

That was emphasised in the sixth minute when a bewildering array of inter-passing between Malcolm Alker, Robinson and Luke Dorn culminated in the latter finding Wilshere in the right corner.

Wilshere looked set to cap the move with a try but Tyrone Smith's outstanding last-ditch tackle halted his progress just short of the line.

A familiar pattern followed thereafter, with Salford's Robinson and Harlequins' rival No 7 Danny Orr doing their utmost to split the opposition but not quite managing to penetrate the last line of defence.

Former Wigan scrum-half Orr was key to all Harlequins' most promising attacks, but chances remained and few and far between and only Wilshere's two-pointer could separate the sides at the break.

Salford threatened to turn their lead into something more meaningful after the restart following a period of sustained pressure on the visitors' line.

But it amounted to nothing and Quins enjoyed a purple patch of their own which reaped rich dividends in the 53rd minute when a penalty from Paul Sykes drew them level.

Salford's impressive scrambling defence had managed to withstand a probing Quins attack, with Julian Rinaldi coming within inches of grounding the ball.

But that was enough to force a penalty which Sykes easily converted to draw the Londoners level at 2-2.

However, Salford began to dominate as the game wore on and Robinson's expertly-taken drop-goal from 25 metres gave them an all-important advantage with 13 minutes remaining.

Better was to come for the Reds three minutes later when Wilshere landed another routine penalty to seal a momentous and potentially season-defining win - and hand McRae the perfect start.

Salford threatened to turn their lead into something more meaningful after the restart following a period of sustained pressure on the visitors' line.

But it amounted to nothing and Quins enjoyed a purple patch of their own which reaped rich dividends in the 52nd minute when Paul Sykes levelled.

Salford's impressive scrambling defence had managed to withstand a probing Quins attack, with Julian Rinaldi coming within inches of grounding the ball.

But that was enough to force a penalty which Sykes easily converted to draw the Londoners level at 2-2.