Gloucester four points clear

Cherry and Whites tear up recent form book

Last updated: 14th February 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Gloucester four points clear

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Gloucester have gone four points clear at the top of the Guinness Premiership after coming from behind to beat Sale 24-17 at Kingsholm.

The Sharks had led 17-8 at half-time - Charlie Hodgson scoring 12 points - but the hosts took the lead early in the second half, Apolosi Satala scoring after Sale's Lee Thomas had been sin-binned just before the interval.

Olly Barkley kicked the extras and two further penalties before a Ryan Lamb drop-goal sealed victory for the home side.

The Cherry and Whites may be top of the table but they have endured some worrying form of late, losing three of their last four matches.

Their sole win, against London Irish last weekend, was only by virtue of a late comeback.

In contrast, the Sharks had started to circle having won their last three league games to lie just two points off Saturday's opponents.

The home side made early mistakes and Hodgson profited, landing a 27-metre penalty before centre Thomas took a pass off wing Chris Bell to race 20 metres to the posts - the fly-half converting.

Gloucester's first attack came midway through the first half, their first points going on the board after Barkley kicked a penalty from 25 metres.

They gradually came into the match as the half progressed and scored their first try thanks to a move started by full-back Iain Balshaw and flanker Satala.

The ball was whizzed across the back division to the left corner, where a rousing attack was finished by wing Mark Foster.

Gloucester were denied two further tries in the last couple of minutes, while Thomas was yellow-carded for a late tackle.

Despite being one man down the visitors then had the chance to extend their lead - and duly took it.

Response

The response started when Chris Jones intercepted Barkley's pass on his own 22, the flanker charging towards halfway before passing out to Bell.

The latter then passed to Hodgson and he ran in from 30 metres, the subsequent conversion handing Sale their nine-point interval lead.

However, within seconds of the re-start, Gloucester were over the Sale line for a second time.

Barkley started the move down the left, with wing James Simpson-Daniel taking things further before his flick to flanker Satala saw the latter run from 20 metres out to score under the posts.

The hosts then went 18-17 ahead thanks to a second Barkley penalty - new Gloucester recruit Carlos Spencer also coming into his own with probing runs into Sale territory.

Barkley did miss three long-range penalties inside 12 minutes but the pressure was beginning to tell on the visitors.

Lock Brent Cockbain did Sale no favours when, within five minutes of replacing Sean Cox, he was sent to the sin-bin for killing the ball.

The resulting penalty saw Barkley find the target from 25 metres.

The England centre then had a shot at sealing it for Gloucester with three minutes to go, but his 35-metre penalty fell short.

However, a 30-metre drop goal from Lamb, Spencer's replacement, sealed the win.