Marcus Cattell hails match-winner Tom Walker for holding his nerve to seal crucial home victory for Bishop’s Stortford over Sale FC in fight for National 1 survival

Marcus Cattell hailed match-winner Tom Walker for holding his nerve to seal a crucial home victory for Bishop’s Stortford over Sale FC in their fight for National 1 survival.

The fly-half sent a penalty between the posts with the last kick of the game to earn the hosts a dramatic 22-19 success at Silver Leys on Saturday.

It means fourth-from-bottom Stortford go into their last match of the season at bottom side Cinderford on April 27 with their destiny in their own hands as they bid to avoid relegation.

But any two of Stortford and their bottom-four rivals, who also include Leicester Lions and Taunton, could still fall through the trapdoor.

“It takes a lot of bottle to take a kick like that, so fair play to Tom - he stepped up and the rest is history,” said head coach Cattell.

“I’ve definitely got a few more grey hairs, but the boys showed a tremendous amount of character.

“Sale are a very, very good side and we hadn’t beaten them since before Covid, so it shows what a challenge it is against them.

“To come out with a win like that from the last play of the game was massive for the bigger picture.”

There were 983 supporters in attendance and Cattell said they made a huge difference to his players.

“It was a massive crowd and it reminded me just how special our club is,” he added.