The hooker scored one of five tries for the visitors, with Ben Curry, Joe Carpenter, Tom Roebuck, and Rob du Preez scoring, as well as Cowan-Dickie, while George Ford kicked all five conversions.
The winless hosts gave a good account of themselves and scored two tries through Guy Pepper and Tim Cardall as fly-half Brett Connon added the extras for both tries.
Click here to see teams and scorers
Both sides struggled to take control in the early stages, regularly kicking for territory while stoppages for injury also broke up the play, with Elliott Obatoyinbo withdrawn for a head injury assessment.The hosts began to put Sale under extended pressure, winning multiple penalties in succession approaching the 20-minute mark but they could not break through stubborn defensive resistance.
And as has happened so often for the Falcons this season, their opposition punished them at the other end – Curry breaking from a maul to run in from the right after 26 minutes.
Carpenter doubled the advantage three minutes later after good work from Manu Tuilagi – the ever-reliable George Ford added the extras on both occasions to leave the north east side facing a mountain to climb again.
They began in perfect fashion before the break as Pepper grabbed a try from a maul to bring the long-suffering crowd – the highest Falcons home attendance since December 2018 – to their feet.
And they continued to reel Sale in after the interval, finally leveling when Cardall rounded off a spell of huge pressure with a pick-and-go left of the posts.
Their frailties at the back came to the fore once again, however, as Cowan-Dickie powered through to dot down and restore the Sharks’ lead.
Roebuck added insult to injury when he sidestepped a challenge to go over from close range, giving them the crucial bonus point and denying Newcastle a losing one of their own.
Three consecutive league wins were secured when Du Preez finished off a good move for Sale’s fifth try of the day three minutes from time.
Teams
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Ben Redshaw, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Callum Chick (c), 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Sam Cross, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 4 Philip van der Walt, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Adam Brocklebank
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Mark Dormer, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Tim Cardall, 20 Freddie Lockwood, 21 James Elliott, 22 Oli Spencer, 23 Tom Penny. Sharks Out: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Arron Reed, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Arron Reed, 10 George Ford, 9 Raffi Quirke, 8 JL du Preez, 7 Sam Dugdale, 6 Ben Curry (c), 5 Josh Beaumont, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 James Harper, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 WillGriff John, 19 Ben Bamber, 20 Hyron Andrews, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Sam James, 23 Tom O’Flaherty
Venue: Kingston Park
Kickoff: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales, Greg Macdonald
TMO: Dean Richards
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