By Leipziger
January 30 2012

Gary Gold got off to the perfect start as Falons manager yesterday as our boys overcame a difficult start to thrash Sale and give us a very slim chance of qualifying for the LV= Cup semi-finals. 

Fans were cheers leading up to the game by the return of Jon Golding on the bench, a first squad appearance of the season for him. Jimmy Gopperth continued at full-back with Joel Hodgson in the number 10 shirt. Ally Hogg returned to the back row with Adriaan Fondse joining Tim Swinson in the lock positions.

Charlie Amesbury and Rob Miller returned to KP in Sale shirts.

Gopperth put us ahead with an early penalty but Sale took the lead through a try by Nick Macleod, the centre converting himself from out on the Sharks right. Macleod touched down after racing onto a loose ball and the crowd's mood went flat.

This turned to anger as the Falcons squandered possession with wasteful kicks. I'd probably say I was disappointed after the first 15 minutes. All the hope with a new management team and it was the same old rubbish.

It looked like it was going to be another one of those days.

But something galvanised the Falcons and they began to run with the ball and chase kicks with purpose, winning territory. From an attack on the Sale line we won a penalty and Gopperth reduced the deficit to a single point. Sale could've considered themselves fortunate not to have conceded a yellow card or a penalty try for the hands in the ruck that ended our advantage.

A try finally came just after the half-hour. A lineout was driven well and man of the match Mark Wilson was forced over.

Gopperth's conversion gave us a 13-7 lead at half-time.

In the second half Sale lost Johnny Leota for 10 minutes following a dangerous tackle on Ryan Shortland, and while the centre was off another penalty increased our lead.

The Falcons almost completely dominated the second 40 and kept play tight in search of a second try. It eventually came through Rob Vickers from close range and Gopperth again converted.

James Fitzpatrick almost got the third, intercepting a loose Sale pass on halfway but not having the pace to outrun the Sale defence. He was tackled in the 22 and the chance went begging.

It was Swinson who was next on the scoresheet and Gopperth rounded off the scoring on the far left, securing our bonus point before kicking his fourth conversion of the day.

The final score was 37-7.

How different it was to watch a decent performance against an English side, a rarity for us these days. There were some good shows from players like Hodgson and Wilson, but Adriaan Fondse deserves a mention too. I haven't seen much from (or of, to be fair) this guy so far but he had a stormer yesterday in the lineout and around the field generally.

So far so good in the Golden era!