A late penalty from Jimmy Gopperth earned relegation-threatened Newcastle Falcons a 22-19 win against Sale Sharks at Kingston Park this evening.
The fly-half kicked over after just two minutes to put the hosts ahead before Tom Brady touched down for the visitors after eight minutes. However, Nick Macleod was unable to make the conversion as the Sharks took a 5-3 lead.
James Gaskell's try after 13 minutes, this time converted by Macleod, looked to have put the away team in the driving seat.
Despite that threat, Gopperth kicked over two penalties in quick succession to draw his side closer to their opponents.
Rob Miller's converted try on 30 minutes gave Sale a 19-9 advantage, but Gopperth kicked over again to bring his side to within seven points at half time.
Newcastle drew themselves level on 53 minutes when Tim Swinson went over for his side's first try of the match. Gopperth launched his kick through the posts to make the score 19-19.
Gopperth grabbed the headlines with just four minutes to play when his penalty sailed through the posts to give the Falcons victory.
Jack Prescott
