His progress was halted, but it hinted at the possibilities on offer for Sale.
Two minutes later, though, and Bristol plundered their second try, with Gus Warr’s kick inside the left channel charged down by lock Josh Caulfield.
Ibitoye collected possession and showed impressive speed and strength to hare past Carpenter and score in the corner before celebrating with gusto.
To Bristol it was the classic scam – keep calm under pressure and then hit the enemy when they are least expecting it.
MacGinty’s second conversion made it 14-0 and in the 31st minute Sale were finally off the mark when Jonny Hill charged down Randall’s kick and galloped over the line, with Rob Du Preez’s conversion cutting Bristol’s lead in half.
Yet the visitors retained a lingering threat with Malins advancing forward from full-back at every opportunity.
Sale thought they had their second try as the interval approached when Carpenter showed outstanding speed to scarper over in the right corner, only for his foot to be diverted into touch by Malins.
It was an exquisite piece of defensive work and tensions simmered between both sets of players as they headed down the tunnel at half-time.
Bristol, though, kept their heads and had their third try shortly after the interval.
The Bears worked the ball across the face of Sale’s defence inside the 22-metre line, culminating in Dan Thomas’ deft offload ushering Malins over in the left corner.