SALE'S fledgling Sharks suffered Halloween heartbreak last night as they went within a whisker of a superb EDF Energy Cup win at Leicester.

Instead of serving up a fright night for a bumper Welford Road crowd, however, director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre was again instead left to reflect on what might have been as Sale clawed their way back to 20-20 before losing it in the final five minutes.

Defeat made it a hat-trick of undeserved losses in the competition but the way many of his young charges have performed in the heat of the battle should only serve Sale well when the more serious business of the Guinness Premiership resumes next month.

The likes of Marc Jones, Carl Fearns and David Tait have truly come of age over the past month and for that, if nothing else, the much-maligned EDF Cup has served a noble purpose as far as the men from Edgeley Park are concerned.

A largely shadow squad, which on the night contained a staggering 16 players aged 25 or under, had performed heroically in earlier EDF outings against Cardiff and Bath.

 But a trip to the Tigers' daunting Welford Road fortress was always going to be a different proposition for Saint-Andre's raw charges.

With Sale's hopes of progressing through to the last four already dead in the water, and their roll call hit by injuries and the upcoming Autumn internationals, on paper it looked like a fixture too far.

 However, on a bitterly cold East Midlands night, the young Sharks again fought their corner with commendable gusto and gave a Leicester side welcoming back England World Cup hero Lewis Moody for his first apperance of the season, genuine cause for concern.

Ironically, Sale had got off to the worst possible start thanks to a 17th-minute yellow card for Sale prop Rob O'Donnell with the Sharks already trailing to a brace of Derick Hougaard penalties.

And Leicester took full advantage, being awarded a penalty try after being camped on the Sharks' try line, Hougaard converting to extend the hosts lead to 13-0.

Sale were also authors of their own downfall on 25 minutes when centre Rudi Keil contrived to spurn a golden try-scoring opportunity with a misplaced pass to debutant winger Ed Styles.

But marshalled by skipper Juan Lobbe with fellow experienced hands Dwayne Peel, Dean Schofield and Jason White lending support, Sale steadied the first-half ship without taking on further water though chances of their own were still at a premium.

And as their confidence grew, the second half got off to an ideal start for the visitors when fly-half for the night Nick Macleod reduced arrears with two penalties inside the first 10 minutes of the restart.

With Sale forcing the Tigers onto the back-foot it got even better on 50 minutes when centre Chris Bell took advantage of a sloppy Leicester to kick through before launching a 60-metre chase and score his third try in two games. With Macleod converting, it was 13-13 and game on once more.

But the advantage swung back the hosts' way on 57 minutes when, after a fine Tom Varndell sprint down the left wing, before feeding centre Tom Youngs who crashed through substitute Mark Atkinson's desperate tackle to score, Hougaard again on the spot with his conversion.

Sale's pups, however, showed their bravery by conjuring up a superb try on 69 minutes. Dwayen Peel's kick was wrenched clear of Same Vesty by Atkinson who fed that man Bell to run in unchallenegd for his and Sale's second try of the night. Macleod again converted to tie the scores at 20-20 and stun the home crowd.

Macleod then came agonisingly close to putting Sale ahead for the first time when he narrowly fell short with a monster 50 metre penalty.

To rub salt in the wound, Leicester then stormed down field and regained the lead with a 74th-minute Hougaard penalty, taking his points tally to 13.

And to add insult to injury with the last play of an action-packed evening Jordan Crane took advantage of a Dean Schofield fumble to score under the posts, Newby converting to produce a scoreline that reflected little on how close Sale had come to an upset.
 
Leicester: Smith; Murphy; Rabeni; Youngs; Varndell; Hougaard; Dupy; Stankovich; Kayser; Cole; Blaze; Kay; Deacon; Moody; Newby
Sale: Doherty; Kuadey; Keil; Bell; Styles; Macleod; Peel; O'Donnell; Jones; Turner; Schofield; White; Lobbe; Hills; Fearns
Ref: J Jones
Att: 16,550