DESPITE securing their place as the only Welsh semi-finalists in the LV= Cup, there was a sense of an opportunity missed for the Scarlets after they were edged out 19-14 by Sale.

Having beaten the Blues, Leicester and London Irish, Nigel Davies's men had all but qualified for the knockout stages, but a win at Edgeley Park would have given them a vital home tie in the last four.

They now face a daunting trip to Northampton, and the Scarlets will look back at this Arctic struggle as one that got away.

With Welsh prop Eifion 'The Fridge' Roberts rejoining Sale this week, it was fitting that this match was played at freezing temperatures.

A snow-speckled Edgeley Park pitch and constant, driving sleet made for difficult playing conditions, and the supremacy regularly shifted between the sides.

The Scarlets held a deserved 11-7 lead at half-time, but their ill discipline proved to be their undoing as Sale's former Blues fly-half Nick Macleod kicked four second-half penalties to give the Sharks victory.

Sale were the quickest to adapt and assert themselves on the game, as Irish international prop Tony Buckley tore through the Scarlets midfield and forced his 6ft 5in frame into the visitors' half.

Buoyed by Buckley's boisterous intervention, Sale fly-half Macleod opted to kick a penalty to the corner and the decision was instantly vindicated.

Sale gathered from the line-out and a maul took the ball to the Scarlets try line, where England flanker Hendre Fourie was on hand to score the game's opening try on his first appearance for the Sharks.

The home side dominated possession and territory in the first quarter, though the Scarlets soon got off the mark with a penalty from Dan Newton.

Those points appeared to settle the visitors, who cut Sale's lead to a single point following Newton's second penalty.

Backed by a wonderfully vocal travelling support, the Scarlets grew in confidence and began to impose themselves on the tie.

At one stage scrum-half Gareth Davies dared to instigate an attack close to his own try line, and it was not long before the visitors led.

After a prolonged period in the Sale 22, Aled Thomas stood back to position himself for a drop-goal but, confronted by an onrushing defence, the fly-half dummied and ran.

Once the ball was recycled, wing Andy Fenby found Peter Edwards and the prop shrugged off a tackle before running over to give the Scarlets an 11-7 lead.

A lively start to the second half saw possession exchanged and the ball fumbled frequently as the heavy sleet made handling tricky.

Macleod struck the first points after the restart, his penalty trimming the Scarlets' lead to 11-10.

With the game finely poised, the Scarlets looked to preserve their slender advantage by replacing Thomas with Welsh international fly-half Stephen Jones.

But a costly offside from a fumble saw the visitors soon concede another penalty, which Macleod converted to regain the lead for Sale.

The former Blues man had found his range, and a third penalty in ten minutes stretched the home side's lead to 16-11.

The home crowd discovered its voice and the Scarlets seemed rattled.

Davies cut a frustrated figure on the sideline and, at one point, the coach threw his woolly hat to the ground in exasperation at yet another infringement.

The visitors struggled for fluency, unable to spend as much time in the opposition's half as they had done before the break. And when they did muster an opportunity to hit back, Newton pushed a penalty attempt wide.

His blushes were at least partly spared by Jones, who minutes later successfully kicked a penalty with a kind deflection off the post.

But again the Scarlets' hopes were dented by a Macleod penalty, his fourth from the left touchline restoring the Sharks' five-point lead at 19-14. As the game entered its final minute, the Scarlets were handed one final chance to steal victory.

Replacement scrum-half Liam Davies kicked towards the Sale line and, just five metres out, the Sharks' Rob Miller spilled the ball and handed the visitors a scrum in a prime position.

As the clock ticked down, the scrum was re-set, collapsed and re-set again, cranking up the pressure to barely tolerable levels.

But when the ball finally did squirm out, it fell to Sale's substitute scrum-half Cillian Willis who hurriedly kicked the ball into touch.

Much to the home supporters' relief, this was the final act of a tense encounter, leaving the Scarlets to stand disconsolate on the wintry Edgeley Park turf.