A last minute drop-goal from former England fly half Charlie Hodgson gave Sale the match win in a game dominated by the boot.

All points in the game came from penalties as both sides struggled to break through the defences.

Saracens looked strong in the first half with plenty of ground being made by a skilful offloading game and strong forward dominance and Sarries were rewarded with three penalties which Jackson struck to make the game 9-0.

They lost some momentum when Neil de Kock was helped from the field after an attempted tackle on Rory Lamont ended with a nasty gash to the scrum-half's head.

Sale scored with penalties of their own just before the break with Hodgson making two, but pushing a third attempt wide.

Luke McAlister took over Sale's kicking duties after the break and put the home side in the lead with two well struck penalties before Jackson levelled the scores with one of his own.

Sarries had a real opportunity to take control of their game with a fantastic counter-attack at the start of the second half.

Richard Haughton produced a characteristic run from his own 22 and when the ruck was formed Andy Saull took the ball on.

The young flanker showed excellent speed and footwork to beat several defenders before diving over the try line. Despite the well worked move appearing to result in a try the referee deemed that Saull had knocked the ball on inches before the line.

Indiscipline from both packs in the 56th minute led to referee Rob Debney having to lecture Borthwick and Chabal after tempers boiled over, Glen Jackson struck the resulting penalty to take the scores to 12-12.

Another penalty apiece took the game to 15-15 in the final minutes with Saracens under real pressure on their own try-line.

An attempted drop-goal was missed by Hodgson but he made no mistakes with his second attempt and gave the home side an 18-15 win in the final minute of the game.

Saracens were much stronger this week with great ambition and a skilful game despite the adverse weather conditions.

Despite the improved performance they are now 10th in the table with two losses out of two and must prepare for back-to-back home games against Newcastle and Northampton in the coming weeks.