MATCH REPORT | Saracens Men 10-20 Sale Sharks
Saracens Men will be heading away to Northampton in the Gallagher Premiership semi-finals after they were beaten 20-10 by Sale Sharks at a sold-out StoneX Stadium.
The Men in Black came up against a defensively robust Sharks outfit who starved Sarries and left North London with the win.
In an eventful start to the match, the kick-off went straight out and Sarries got a penalty from the scrum. Elliot Daly’s long-range effort went just wide, but it was a strong signal of intent from the pack in the opening exchanges.
Both sides were physically looking to impose themselves on one another, with huge hit after huge hit in a cagey opening quarter. Ivan van Zyl’s quick tap almost released Alex Lewington down the right wing, but that was as close as either try line came to being breached.
Sale then burst in to life and scored the first try of the game with 23 minutes gone to take the lead. After a lengthy kicking duel Tom Roebuck spotted some space and weaved his way through three defenders before running clear from just outside the 22 to the delight of the travelling fans. George Ford’s conversion gave them a 7-0 lead.
Juan Martin Gonzalez then claimed the kick off and immediately earned a penalty at the breakdown, which Owen Farrell kicked to cut the deficit to four.
Sarries then created their first clear cut chance as some lovely hands from Ben Earl and Tom Willis allowed Daly to break down the left but his pass inside went to floor and Sale escaped.
Sale then thought they had got their second just before the break as Luke Cowan Dickie pounced on an overthrown lineout, but he knocked the ball on in the process of scoring in a lucky escape for the hosts.
The scrum, which the visitors were thriving off then earned Sale another penalty, and Ford kicked it straight through the posts with the final play of the half as they went down the tunnel with a 10-3 lead.
At the start of the second half Ford kicked another penalty five minutes after the restart, meaning Sarries would need to overturn a ten point deficit in the remaining 35 minutes.
It got even better for Sale on the 50 minute mark as Rob du Preez intercepted and had a clear run to the line, and then Ford’s conversion gave them a 20-3 lead as the task got tougher.
Sarries then knew they needed something special and it almost arrived when Alex Goode broke in to the Sale half and forced a penalty, but then from the lineout the ball was stolen and Sale managed to clear.
Theo Dan then charged through a gap in the defence and he had Goode for company who grubbered in to the corner, earning his side some much needed territory.
That territory turned in to points as Marco Riccioni bundled over from just a metre out to get Sarries back in to the match. Farrell’s conversion then meant it was 20-10 to Sale with 15 minutes to go.
Earl then sliced through another gap but just at the crucial moment lost his footing as a chance was cruelly taken away.
Sale thought they might have sealed the win with five minutes to go but they were held up over the line and gave Sarries one last chance to go down to the other end of the pitch.
That chance didn’t materialise, and Sarries will travel to Franklin’s Gardens on Friday 31st May for a mouth-watering semi-final.
