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Sale winger Arron Reed scored two tries to send his side top of the Gallagher Premiership as they recorded a 40-22 comeback victory at home to bottom side Newcastle.
Outside centre Sam James and wing Tom Roebuck both crossed the whitewash in the final minutes as Sale quelled an inspired Newcastle fight back in the second half to win the northern derby.
England’s Ben Curry and South Africa’s Rob Du Preez both scored tries for the hosts in the first half in an end-to-end game which had a bit of everything.
As has been a usual occurrence at the AJ Bell Stadium this season, Sale started slow and went behind within two minutes.
Newcastle’s teenage full-back Ben Redshaw kicked a pinpoint 50-22, before the 19-year-old broke the Sharks line after the line-out and several quick passes found Louis Brown in space to score a debut try in the corner.
Sale struggled to break the visitors in the loose, but a quick line-out just inside the Newcastle half went crossfield and wing Tom Roebuck sent a kick-chase down the flank with fellow wing Reed dummying Iwan Stephens before getting the dot down.
The home-side’s ill discipline put themselves under the cosh as they conceded three penalties in a row to give Falcons a line-out five metres from the try-line and a pick-and-go saw skipper Callum Chick power over on the left.
On the cusp of the half-hour mark, Sale took the lead as the hosts forced a penalty to get a line-out eight metres out before Curry muscled under a sea of bodies. Fly-half Du Preez converted to make it 12-10.
Sale quickly got another line-out deep in Falcons territory and a Jonny Hill break went infield for Du Preez to dive over under the posts.
A Sale scrum in Newcastle territory was quickly whipped out and Reed burst like a bullet through two defenders to score the home-side’s bonus-point try under the posts.
Alex Codling’s Falcons restarted the second half with a spring in their step and debutant replacement centre Oliver Spencer broke the Sharks line and forced a penalty.
The ensuing line-out from five metres went on the short side for hooker Bryan Byrne to dive over in the corner.
Four minutes later, Falcons wing Stephens gathered a loose ball and sprinted 40 metres downfield to score a solo effort under the posts for Newcastle’s try bonus point as he made it 26-22.
Both sides had opportunities late on, but Sale’s new front row started dominating both the set-piece and in the loose to force Newcastle to concede four penalties on the bounce.
After 76 minutes, Newcastle’s Oliver Spencer was sin-binned for an illegal rip on Gus Warr, leading to a second Sale scrum in front of the posts that was quickly whipped out by scrum-half Warr for James to power over.
In the final minute – with the clock in the red – Warr was again the instigator, linking up with James to free up Roebuck to sprint down the flank and slide over to complete a statement win for Alex Sanderson’s Sale.
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