Sale FC 29-12 Macclesfield

AFTER victory over Stourbridge the previous weekend, Sale FC went one better by putting in another spectacular performance in their final home game of the season to beat league champions Macclesfield at Heywood Road.

It was a tentative start with both sides preferring the boot to gain field advantage before Sam Stelmaszek created a half break which unfortunately failed to bring points.

A stunning tackle by Tom Davenport put Sale on the front foot allowing Tom Ailes to combine with Jonathan Keep who raced in for the try and Liam McGovern added the conversion.

Macclesfield came back strongly after Sale were penalised in their 22 but the chance went begging for the champions as the home defence cleared the danger.

On 30 minutes, a close-range try by Ryan Parkinson, converted by Lewis Barker, levelled the scores and minutes later the champions were in front when Elliott Millar-Mills touched down following a strong run.

But the lead did not last. From the restart a solo effort by Elliot Fletcher saw him weave his way through the Macclesfield defence to score under the posts and McGovern added the extras, and kicked a penalty on the stroke of half time to put the home side 17-12 in front.

Sale had a positive start to the second half with an excellent break by McGovern setting up Stelmaszek, who took play into the visitors' 22 and slick handling put Ben Gledhill over in the corner.

The hosts were putting in a fine display in both attack and defence and although Macclesfield had good possession they failed to convert any benefit into points.

Sale continued with renewed commitment and were rewarded when Adam Greendale claimed his second bonus-point try for the club and McGovern added an excellent touchline conversion in the final minutes to complete another stunning team display.