Saracens eased into the Parker Pen Challenge Cup semi-finals despite a narrow defeat at Newcastle's Kingston Park on Sunday.

England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson coolly slotted over an 82nd-minute penalty to give his side an unlikely victory after they had trailed Saracens for virtually the entire match.

But their 21-point deficit from the first leg at Vicarage Road on Monday night had left them with too much to do.

Both sides scored some fine tries in an entertaining encounter, but Saracens deserved their place in the last four where they will meet Bath.

Saracens piled on the pressure right from the start as Newcastle struggled to break from their own half despite the best efforts of their pack who could make little headway in the loose.

One powerful run from number eight Hugh Vyvyan in the 16th minute saw the Falcons launch their first notable foray into their opponents' territory.

He was eventually hauled down but Saracens had infringed in the tackle, conceding a penalty which Wilkinson nudged wide.

The visitors went back on the offensive though and scored the first points of the afternoon when centre Ben Johnston accepted an inside pass from Andy Goode before skipping over the line.

Newcastle were being hampered by a succession of knock-ons - three tackles in five minutes saw the ball spilt forward and then failed to find any rhythm.

But their cause was being assisted by fly-half Goode who chose to kick away the quality possession provided by his forwards when a more adventurous approach was required.

Luckily there was no one in the Falcons' ranks who could run the ball back to any affect, letting Saracens off the hook.

Ubiquitous Saracens hooker Matt Cairns was enjoying a fine afternoon and he deservedly crossed in the 33rd minute - with a little help from his fellow forwards who pushed him over.

Goode converted but Newcastle struck back, winger Liam Botham scrambling over for a try that Wilkinson improved from the touchline.

And Wilkinson completed another touchline conversion two minutes after the break, following a superb team try which saw the ball recycled several times before Vyvyan touched down.

Wallaby World Cup winner Tim Horan looked prominent in the Saracens' midfield and he set up his side's third try with a wonderful pass to winger Tom Shanklin who finished neatly.

Goode improved the score and kicked a penalty shortly after to push the visitors into a healthy eight-point lead.

This was further increased when substitute Ben Russell galloped over after showing a dummy which fooled three Newcastle defenders and Goode added the extras.

The Falcons then staged their late comeback scoring tries through Ian Peel and Matt Thompson, both converted by Wilkinson, before the England star struck his injury-time penalty to snatch victory.