Sale blow Exiles off course
London Irish missed out on the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table as they slipped to a 14-8 loss at Sale.
Last Updated: 10/01/09 4:03pm
Guinness Premiership leaders London Irish missed out on the chance to extend their lead at the top as they slipped to a 14-8 loss away at Sale.
On a bitterly cold night in the North West the hosts came out on top at Edgeley Park thanks to a red-hot move finished off by Mark Cueto.
With England team manager Martin Johnson watching on from the stands, the winger showed his international pedigree with a 57th minute try.
Cueto's score, his fourth in the last three matches, came after good work by substitute Mathew Tait and cancelled out an earlier effort for the visitors by Topsy Ojo.
Impressive display
Charlie Hodgson also put himself in the frame for an England recall with an impressive display that included kicking two penalties and a drop goal.
It was the boot of the fly-half that proved the difference between the two sides, meaning the Exiles head home to the capital with just a losing bonus point for their efforts.
Knowing a victory would put daylight between themselves and nearest rivals Gloucester, Toby Booth's side should have perhaps known it wasn't going to be their evening when Peter Hewat missed a second-minute penalty.
The influential full-back also missed again soon after but Hodgson had no problems with his first shot at the posts, landing an eighth-minute effort to break the deadlock.
The score remained 3-0 until just before the half-hour mark when Ojo, who had previously been heavily tackled into touch by Sebastian Chabal to set the tone for a physical contest, dived over.
The winger went over in the right corner to finish off a flowing move, though Hewat was once again off target with the conversion attempt.
In the end the Australian did manage to find his range as it proved third time lucky, his 37th-minute penalty meaning Irish led 8-6 at the break.
Crucial try
Hodgson, who had landed a drop goal before the interval, was on target with a penalty attempt of his own 10 minutes into the second half before Cueto scored the crucial try.
In the aftermath both the try-scorer and Exiles sub David Paice were sin-binned for their part in a scuffle that broke out between the two teams.
With their hopes of recording a fifth successive victory against Sale slipping away, the Exiles threw everything at their opponents in the closing stages.
However, their only real chance of scoring again came in the form of a missed penalty by Shane Geraghty, meaning the table-toppers will now have to watch on this weekend in the hope they remain at the summit.
