Gallagher PREM champions Bath edged a rollercoaster contest at the CorpAcq Stadium to move within one point of leaders Northampton at the top.
Sharks led 19-7 at half-time and then 26-19 with 20 minutes remaining but late tries from Bernard van der Linde and Alfie Barbeary sealed the win.
On a blustery day in Salford, Bath started the game on the front foot and were rewarded for their early dominance with the first try through hooker Dan Frost.
But Sharks battled their way back into the game and after Bath winger Joe Cokanasiga was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock on, they pulled level through a well-worked converted Tom O’Flaherty try on 26 minutes.
Four minutes later Sharks were ahead when, after a delay and a TMO check, referee Luke Pearce judged that Rob du Preez had grounded the ball after a try-line scramble.
With the clock about to hit 40 minutes, and with Bath once again reduced to 14 through a yellow card for Frost, Sharks pulled further ahead when returning England hooker pushed his way over from the back of a maul.
Second half
Despite the numerical disadvantage, the visitors started the second period on the front foot and scored two quick tries to wipe out Sharks’ half-time lead.
First Wales centre Louie Hennessey dived over in the corner and then player of the match Ethan Staddon touched down after catching the Sharks defence napping with a quickly taken lineout.
Roared on by the CorpAcq Stadium crowd, Sharks came back once again and after a sustained period of pressure, Tom Roebuck took a pass out wide and dived over on his first Sharks game since before the Autumn Internationals.
Ford converted to give the home side a seven-point lead with 20 minutes left on the clock, but three minutes later, momentum swung back towards the away team when replacement hooker Tuipolotu pounced on a loose lineout to kick forward. Van der Linde grabbed the bouncing ball and dived under the posts to give Santi Carreras and easy conversion.
With ten minutes left, and with Sharks pushing for the win, replacement number 8 Barbeary intercepted a loose ball on halfway. After going through the phases on the Sharks line, Barbeary dived over a cluster of players to give Bath the win.
