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Newcastle show defensive grit to down Saracens in second win of season
By PA
Newcastle moved off the bottom of the Gallagher Premiership table with a hard-fought 17-12 victory over Saracens at Kingston Park.
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Tobias Elliott scored the first try of the evening for Saracens, but Newcastle responded with two of their own after Alex Hearle and Adam Radwan both crossed for the hosts to lead 17-5 at half-time.
A quieter second half saw Sarries begin to push into Newcastle territory and Tom Willis scored a try in the final minutes, but a fantastic defensive display saw Falcons secure their second Premiership win of the season.
Brett Connon put the first points on the board for Newcastle with a penalty kick three minutes in and the fly-half missed the chance to extend Falcons’ lead from the tee with an ambitious kick from just in front of the halfway line.
Saracens struggled to build phases in a scrappy start to the game and were frustrated by some solid Newcastle defending and kicking.
The visitors eventually scored the first try of the evening after 18 minutes when Theo Dan broke through the defence and a quick team move was finished by Elliott, who crossed in the right corner, but Alex Lozowski was unable to convert.
Newcastle found an instant response following a brilliant spell of pressure on the Sarries try-line and Connon quickly offloaded the ball to Hearle, who darted over the line to ground next to the posts before the fly-half added the extras.
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Saracens conceded another penalty and the hosts missed the chance to extend their lead as Connon could only fire wide of the upright.
However, the Falcons were soon on the charge again, quickly switching play to the right flank from a line-out on the left and moments after being brought on, Radwan dived over the line for Newcastle’s second try and Connon converted.
A stop-start second half saw both sides favour the kicking game in the early stages and the hosts had two great opportunities for tries in the left corner, but instead conceded two penalties.
The visitors began to see more of the ball and creep into Falcons territory, but the hosts defended their patch well and used their penalties well to push up the pitch.
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Saracens had a fantastic chance to pull a try back in the 73rd minute when Tom Parton broke forward and latched onnto a grubber kick, but he was hauled back by Radwan on the try-line.
Willis pulled a try back for Saracens in the dying minutes after grounding by the posts, which Fergus Burke converted.
There was late drama as Hugh Tizard was shown a red card for a challenge on Sammy Arnold and Connon kicked the ball out of play to wrap up victory.
