Newcastle vs Northampton: Richards thanks supporters as Falcons' winning home run goes on

Newcastle 26 Northampton 25: Newcastle’s pack was showing the strain and three penalties had them under pressure

Andy Goode, the Newcastle Falcons flyhalf, celebrates their victory at the final whistle (Getty)

Newcastle gave their hopes of beating relegation from the Premiership a boost as they survived a Northampton fightback to record their fifth home win in succession.

In front of their biggest crowd of the season the Falcons hung on grimly for a 26-25 victory yesterday, having led 26-11 for much of the second half.

“The crowd were great, they are a noisy bunch here and they really got behind the team today and they won’t have gone home disappointed,” said the Newcastle director of rugby, Dean Richards.

“The quality of our play in the last three or four games has been top drawer and we won today against a quality side.”

First-half tries from Alex Tait and Chris Harris had put Newcastle in charge, while Andy Goode again impressed, kicking 16 points.

They thought they had scored after just three minutes when Marcus Watson surged through, but Will Welch was judged to have obstructed Sam Dickinson. Four minutes later Tait crossed after a series of forward drives orchestrated by Michael Young and Goode.

Northampton hit back when Lee Dickson wriggled over from a five-metre scrum. Newcastle’s pack was showing the strain and three penalties had them under pressure. From a line-out in the corner Dickson squeezed over for his second try to trim the lead to 26-25 in the 68th minute. Northampton threw on their big guns, including Victor Matfield, but the home side just held out.