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Your support makes all the difference.Charlie Hodgson's injury-time drop goal moments after Oriol Ripol had scored what appeared to be the winning try sealed a tremendously exciting match of unremitting intensity. Paul Grayson failed with the conversion, but once Sale fought their way downfield to give Hodgson a sight of goal, there was only one conclusion possible. Sale have started where they left of in June: winning when all seems lost.
The pace was furious from the start, and it took Northampton just 76 seconds to open the scoring. Having initiated a promising attack down the right, Paul Grayson bombed a high ball wide to the left for Ben Cohen to touch down in the corner. Grayson, playing his 200th game for Saints, converted.
Sale's response was immediate, and though Cohen just hauled down Mark Cueto inches from the line, Jos Baxendell knocked over a drop goal, before Hodgson nosed Sale ahead with two penalties. Back came Saints, Grayson slotting a penalty, before Hodgson replied in kind with a strike from 35 metres to make it 12-10 to the home side.
It had been a breathless opening half-hour, with plenty for the watching England coach, Clive Woodward, to mull over; not the least being the form of Hodgson – who although he fluffed his lines with a penalty miss – looked particularly sharp in broken play, setting the Sale backline in motion at every opportunity. He redeemed himself with a fourth penalty, before Grayson pulled one back to close the gap to just two points at the break. The wonder of the half was that there had been only a solitary try. Though the quality of defensive play from both sides was of the highest order, Northampton were guilty of killing the ball too often for the referee, Steve Leyshon's, liking.
Once the yellow cards came out of Leyshon's left pocket-Stu Pinkerton being the first to go, followed by Robbie Morris and Chris Budgen, anything was possible. With both teams down to 14 men, Sale piled on the pressure, but the only scoring was a Grayson penalty to two more by Hodgson. Then, having replaced Mel Deane, Dan Harris was sin-binned for a high tackle, and Sale really were put under pressure until Ripol almost finished them off.
Sale: Penalties Hodgson 6; Drop goals Baxendell, Hodgson. Northampton: Tries Cohen, Ripol; Conversion Grayson; Penalties Grayson 3.
Sale: J Robinson; M Cueto, J Baxendell, M Deane (D Harris, 71), S Hanley; C Hodgson, B Redpath (capt); K Yates, A Titterrell (C Marais, 56), B Stewart, C Jones, D Schofield (S Lines, 56), A Sanderson, S Pinkerton, P Anglesea.
Northampton: N Beal; O Ripol, M Tucker, P Jorgensen, B Cohen; P Grayson, M Dawson; T Smith, S Thompson (D Richmond, 64-71), R Morris (C Budgen, 70), R Hunter, S Williams, A Blowers (G Seely, 68), B Pountney (capt), M Soden (C Budgen, 52-60).
Referee: S Leyshon(Bristol).
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