A FOURTH defeat in five games sent Tynedale slithering into the murky waters of the National League Division Two relegation zone on Saturday.

It‘s far too early to press the panic button just yet, but the defeat at Sale FC could have been much heavier than the scoreline suggests.

With ten minutes left, Tynedale were trailing 31-6, and it was only when punches were thrown , and yellow cards were flashed, that Tynedale were able to bring respectability to the scoreline with three late tries.

Dame Fortune frowned on Tynedale even before the kick off, when traffic jams on the way down to the Cheshire stockbroker belt meant that Tynedale only arrived 45 minutes before kick of, with the inevitable disruption to their pre-match routine.

Then after 10 minutes, scrum half Dan Taylor picked up a dead leg. He bravely soldiered on, in the hope the numbness would fade, but he eventually had to succumb to the inevitable and go off.

Skipper Matty Outson switched from fly half to scrum half, with Ash Smith, who started at full back, moving to stand off, and Jamie Dixon coming on in the wing.

The jinx continued in the second half, with centre Will Miller failing to return after the break, suffering blurred vision following a poke in the eye, and Tynedale also lost lock Jonny Cousin, with a head gash which was too deep for a temporary repair to be effected.

Joe McKenzie deputised well in the centre, and in the last 15 minutes, Tynedale played some good rugby, when for the first time they started to secure some good ball.

They had to so so with 14 men, following the sin-binning of prop Dom Connolly, along with his Sale counterpart, in the wake of some front row fisticuffs, but Tynedale finished very strongly.

Had the game lasted five minutes longer, the consensus was Tynedale would have finished with a minimum of two bonus points,

They could have snatched a flattering bonus point, if a last gasp conversion attempt had gone over, but that would only have papered over the cracks.

It was their 14th consecutive away defeat, and Tynedale have only won three of the last 25 league matches - that is relegation form in anyone’s book.

For the third game in a row, Tynedale gave themselves a mountain to climb before producing a storming finish but this time it wasn’t enough to salvage a bonus point.

Yet again, Tynedale shuffled the pack, with Ashley Smith dropping to full back to allow the return of the experienced Jack Harrison in the centre.

Veteran Peter Southern continued in the front row, but once again, it was a torrid afternoon for the Tynedale pack against a side which had previously won only once all season.

Tynedale found themselves trailing after just two minutes, when not for the first time, Tynedale‘s kick off was too deep, and hooker Scott Briggs was allowed to create good field position for the home side.

Slick handling by forwards and backs alike in the Tynedale 22 left the visitors chasing shadows, and Jack Moorhouse went over for the opening try.

The kick failed, and on five minutes Tynedale opened their account with a Smith penalty for 5-3.

Soon after though, Tynedale were caught offside in front of their own posts, and Sale captain Liam McGovern’s simple penalty stretched the score to 8-3.

McGovern was on target with the boot again on 14 minutes from an identical position, and Tynedale remained under the cosh from some excellent driving from the Sale pack.

However, the defence held, and towards the end of the half, Tynedale started to some some attacking ambition.

They forced a line-out close to the line, but failed to secure possession from the throw, and the chance was lost.

They did narrow the gap when Smith landed his second penalty on 36 minutes, but in the final minute of the half, McGovern floated over an exquisite penalty from the touchline for the sides to go in at 14-6.

Eight minutes into the second half an expert chip over the oncoming Tynedale defence by McGovern bounced kindly for Chris Mayor, who linked well with Tom Davenport to send John O’Donnell in for a try, which McGovern converted for 21-6.

It was soon 24-6 with McGovern‘s fourth penalty, and on 55 minutes, a long clearance kick by Tynedale was run back at them with interest, for Tom Ailes to dummy his way over for a converted try to make it 31-6.

To their credit, Tynedale did not let their heads drop, and at last started finding the gaps.

Outson jinked over on 74 minutes for a try converted by Smith, and with two minutes remaining, winger Rory Dixon also crossed the whitewash for an unconverted score.

In the final play of the game centre Jack Harrison grabbed Tynedale’s third try, setting up the conversion opportunity for Smith which would have secured a bonus point.

It was not to be, and Tynedale ended the day empty handed.