Johnson’s boot settles it after Ailes magic

TWO second-half penalties from Chris Johnson ensured that Sale edged past Stourbridge to keep them flying high in the league.

But a moment of magic from Tom Ailes to set up Jack Moorhouse’s try was the difference between the two sides in this gritty encounter.

Stourbridge had travelled to Heywood Park with a tight forward-based game that set the tone for the afternoon.

The opening quarter was mainly dominated by defence, but Stourbridge did get a chance from the tee to open up an early lead.

Luke White was on kicking duty for the away side and he made no mistake with his first on 16 minutes to break the deadlock before adding another penalty four minutes later.

Sale responded quickly and, just five minutes, were

ahead with the game’s only try. Ailes broke from the base of the scrum in midfield before releasing Moorhouse, fresh from grabbing his century of tries for the club last weekend, with an offload to score.

Full-back Luke McGovern added the extras to send Sale into the break with a one-point lead.

Stourbridge were back on top just nine minutes after the restart with White kicking another penalty.

But two penalties from Johnson just after the hour mark guaranteed the win for Sale, who are joint top of the table with Caldy.#