Red mist sees Sale’s run end
THE SALE PACK STRUGGLE AGAINST TWO-MAN ADVANTAGE
SALE FC Rugby, unbeaten in their past four home games, succumbed to two late penalty tries having played three quarters of the match with 14 men, and the closing minutes with 13 – the result of red cards handed out in each half.
Blackheath were quickly into their stride, winning a penalty in the first minute, kicked by centre Leo Fielding.
Sale responded to the challenge, taking the game to the visitors and winning consecutive penalties, taking them within range of the posts, Emiliano Calle Rivas taking his opportunity to equalise.
Back came Sale again another penalty taking them close to the Blackheath line.
A clean take at the line-out provided a platform for a driving maul from which Stone Priestley-Nangle burst over the line to score a welldeserved try.
Within minutes, Blackheath levelled, scoring a try in the corner – but shortly after Sale prop Joe Kelly was given a red card reducing Sale to 14 men – but a Calle Rivas penalty kick on the half hour saw Sale FC take an 11- 8 lead into the half-time break.
The second half began with Sale’s 14 men yet again taking the game to the visitors, forcing a misdirected clearance kick and winning line-out possession.
With centre Johnny Leota in the thick of things, a solid ruck provided the base to feed full-back Povey, who in turn linked up with winger Paolo Odogwu – whose powerful run took him over in the corner for a try which was skilfully converted by Calle Rivas to take Sale FC into a 10-point lead.
Sale continued to retain their advantage with a combination of solid defence and effective counter attacking when on 60 minutes, Blackheath flanker Harry Bate won the ball just inside the Sale half, breaking free of the Sale defence to run the 45 metres to the try line to score under the posts. Having added the extra points, the score was now tied on 18 points each.
As the match drew to a close and with the home team tiring as a result of their outstanding effort against superior numbers, a procession of reset scrums concluded with a penalty try in the visitors favour taking them into a seven-point lead.
Immediately following the restart, a punch was spotted by the referee who didn’t hesitate showing a red card to Sale hooker Neil Briggs.
The match concluded with another penalty try for Blackheath as the Sale pack struggled against a two-man advantage.