Sale hang on for win

Sale travelled to Somerset to take on a Taunton side struggling towards the bottom of National League One.

The game kicked off on a soft pitch with a stiff breeze at the dogs’ backs but we were quickly behind as the Titans blasted through a hole in our defence to score under the posts and add a simple conversion. 7-0

After the early shock to the system, Sale grew into the game, dominating territory if not possession. It took until the 26th minute for us to draw level when the catch and drive functioned perfectly for Josh Brown to scramble over the whitewash; James Robins adding a fine conversion from out wide. 7-7

The remainder of the half was littered with penalties, including one which saw Josh Brown yellow carded for a high tackle, but the dogs took the lead with time in the red as the aforementioned hooker returned to the fray to score his 14th try of the season. 7-12

It was important to start the second half well with the wind in our faces and we did just that as Tom Brady intercepted a floated pass to stride in from 30m; James Robins was on target with the extras. HT 7-19

Shortly afterwards we lost Jordan Tebbatt to a yellow card but were close to surviving the ten minutes with 14 men when the hosts bashed through our defensive line after a sustained period of pressure. 14-19

The last ten minutes of the game saw the dogs almost entirely in Titans territory but, try as they might, they could not secure the bonus point try. FT 14-19

A hard fought win in tricky conditions against a side who belied their lowly league status. Sets up an intriguing clash against third placed Cambridge next week.