Early momentum was with Sale, winning an early line-out then rumbling on through the pack, with Geordan Murphy there to clear the lines.

The first charge down of the day was the result of a delayed kick by Goode, the retreating Tigers having little option but to give away the three to Hodgson.

An attempted charge down by Croft lead to Sales's second converted penalty from Hodgson when Croft's trailing elbow caught the Sharks stand-off  on the side of the head.

Tigers were allowed to reply almost immediately when adjudged to be off side at the break down. Goode took the points and the scoreboard clicked over to 6-3 to the home side.

The first break by Mauger (or Morger, as he is known in Stockport) in a Tiger's shirt came from the restart, but Leicester could not convert the move into points.

A disappointing couple of kicks from Leicester in open play went straight out on the full, giving away not only possession, but the ever important territory to Sale.

Laharague made a terrific break out of the Sale 22, taking play over half way as Sharks. Again, Leicester infringed and McAlister tried his luck with the boot. This time the attempt was just wide of the post, but this lead to a clever attack with a chip and chase and a near try by Laharague. The decision was that the ball was held up, but Sale still had the put in to the following scrum.

Sale's attempt at the tap-penalty was pulled back by the referee but Hodgson decided to take an easy 3 and make sure of increasing the home side's lead.

A break by Murphy and Goode through the middle of the Sale defence resulted in a Tiger's penalty just outside the 22 but Goode pulled thie kick wide to the left of the uprights.

Hodgson's chip over the Tiger's defensive line lead to a passage of play that took the ball from one touchline to the other. Chabal took the move towards the try line before Lamont was release on the left wing to score unopposed. Hodgson missed the conversion from out wide and the score moved on to 14-3.

A mistake from the restart gave Tigers a put in at the scrum from a Sale knock-on. A move from the scrum ended in Johne Murphy crossing the whitewash and 5 points for Leicester. Goode missed the conversion and at the stroke of halftime, the score was poised at 14-8 to Sale.

The Tigers came out as if they meant business in the second half. A short spell in the Sale 22 ended with a missed drop goal attempt by Goode.

Sale were pinged in their 22 shortly after for going in a the side and Goode slotted the 3. With 43 minutes on the clock, the score moved on to 14 - 11.

Things got a bit scrappy after a cross-field kick by Hodgson was not gateher - the net result though being a penalty for Sale. Hodgson put the ball into the stand and the Sharks enjoyed a period of pressure in the Tigers 22.

Hodgson put the ball in to touch from another penalty, giving the home side the 5m line out. Croft stepped up to steal the Sale ball and Goode made the clearance kick.

Chabal failed to keep his hands off the ball in the ruck as Tigers advance to halfway. Goode pushed the visitors to the Sale 22. The line out was won by Leicester and a series of driving mauls took the play to within 15m.

Goode saw that the advantage was coming tried (sort of) to put 3 on the Tigers total from a drop goal that was easily charged down. The resulting penalty kick from Goode shave the outside of the right hand upright and the scored stayed at 14 - 11.

 Again, Sale were penalised for joining the ruck at the side giving Goode yet another go at the penalty from just inside the half. This time, there was no doubt and the Tiger drew level at 14 all.

Straight from the restart, Kay was penalised in front of the posts and Hodgson stepped up to restore the Sharks lead with a simple penalty conversion.

Mauger made a run through the Sale midfield and a move out to the left wing to Varndell saw the winger knocking on after chasing his own chip through.

Chabal's error in the scrum restart handed possession back to Tigers and after a couple of scrums, the decision was made to give Goode the penalty attempt. This time, it was the wood work that denied Leicester and the scramble for the ball resulted in a Sale put in at the scrummage. Hodgson cleared the Sale lines giving Leicester the thrown on half way.

A forward pass by Goode in the midfield put Sale back in the driving seat on the halfway line with only 10 minutes left on the clock.

Sale took the opportunity to turn the screws in the last few minutes with powerful runs from Chabal and McAlister

Another attacking 5m line out for Sale did not go to plan. McAlister's drop goal attempt was just wide, as was Laharague's (no surprisingly from about 60m!) but pressure from the Sharks lead to the inevitable penalty. Luke McAlister took the long ranfge lick and Sale eased a further 3 points ahead. 20-14.

Tigers desperately trying to close out the game in the dying seconds kept the ball alive and tried to run it to the final whistle, but Sale held out and the Tigers had to make do with the losing bonus.

Final score Sharks 20 - Tigers 14 and a well deserved victory for the home side.

Referee: Dave Pearson.

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