Newcastle mounted a spirited second-half fightback but were plunged deeper
into the relegation struggle after they were beaten by Bath at Kingston Park
on Sunday.
The Falcons made as bad a start as they had at Bristol the previous week and
were 24-6 down within the first half hour and struggling to stay in the game.
They conceded a try after just one minute and 46 seconds when Andy Williams
cruised through the middle as Newcastle stood back and watched.
Matt Perry added two quick penalties to one by Earl Va'a and, despite Bath
losing Mike Catt with a recurrence of his hamstring problem after 15 minutes,
Chris Malone came on to add another penalty before Tom May dropped a goal in the
27th minute.
On the half hour, the Falcons turned over the ball in their own 22 and Bath
ran it wide for Tom Voyce to score in the corner and Malone stretched the lead
to 24-6.
Newcastle looked a side bereft of confidence but two penalties from Va'a sent
them in 24-12 down at half-time and in the second half it was a different story
with the Falcons suddenly finding the spark they needed.
They squandered a golden opportunity when they messed up two line-out drives
and had to settle for another Va'a penalty. But after May nearly forced his way
over, the ball was fired wide for Epi Taione and Liam Botham to send in Joe Shaw
for a try which completed the scoring.
Newcastle had their chances in the closing stages with Hall Charlton, Michael
Stephenson and Shaw all going close but Bath's tackling was superb - as was
their tactical kicking which kept the Falcons penned back in their own half for
much of the last quarter.
Teams:
Newcastle: Shaw, Botham, Noon, May, Stephenson, Va'a, Charlton,
Ward, Makin, Hurter, Vyvyan, Hamilton, Taione, Devonshire,
Dunbar.
Not Used: Grindal, Godman, Peel, Springgay, Dowson, Thompson,
Otuvaka.
Tries: Shaw.
Pens: Va'a 4.
Drop Goals: May
Bath: Perry, Danielli, Davy, Crockett, Voyce, Catt,
A. Williams, Barnes, Humphries, Mallett, Borthwick, Lyle,
Scaysbrook, Beattie, N. Thomas.
Not Used: Blake, Mears, Galasso, Malone, Thirlby, Grewcock,
Lloyd.
Tries: A. Williams, Voyce.
Cons: Malone.
Pens: Perry 2, Malone 2.
Att: 4,532
Ref: Ashley Rowden (RFU).
E-mail Article 
Print-Friendly
Subscribe to RSS Feed 
Post to del.icio.us
Facebook