Sarries let a 10-point lead slip to lose 29-22 on Friday night

Saracens coach Adam Powell was frustrated by self-inflicted errors as the Men in Black lost 29-22 at Sale Sharks in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

The Londoners were much the better team in the first half, going 16-6 up via Will Skelton’s try and three Max Malins penalties.

However, Ben Curry’s effort just before the break began to turn the tide in Sale’s favour and they controlled the second period.

Malins did add two more from the tee after the break for Sarries, but scores from Alexandru Tarus and Mike Haley helped the Sharks to another cup victory.

“I’m disappointed,” Powell said. “In the first half we did a lot of good things, although we could have kicked the corners a little bit more and played a bit more field position.

“The messages at half-time were to do that, but we started the second half with three penalties against us, which gave the momentum to Sale.

“We probably lost it a little bit in the line-out, which meant we couldn’t quite capitalise on field position... and we just let the game slip away from us a little bit.”

Sale Sharks coach Paul Deacon, meanwhile, was pleased with his side’s performance after they overcame a 10-point deficit to win

He said: “We found a way to play last week and we had to change that a little this week and I thought the lads did that really well when you consider the conditions and the opposition we were up against.”

“It was a big task for Cameron Redpath. He had to go in at 10 and I thought he really showed how good he could be. He’s definitely one player to look out for in the future.

“The young kids didn’t look out of place. All credit to them and the academy coaches that have brought them through.”