Ashton double has Bath in hot water at bottom

Northampton 15 Bath 13: Coach Meehan frustrated by red card for Banahan as strugglers lose again

(DAVID ASHDOWN)

There was pride, determination and effort by the sackful, but still Bath could not buy a victory. Steve Meehan, their head coach, had a face like thunder after a defeat which he called "harsh" and "unfortunate". No doubt the words resounding around the visitors' changing room would have been much more vitriolic after Chris Ashton stole victory for Northampton with 46 seconds left on the clock.

Meehan, who was given a vote of confidence by his chief executive following a turgid 16-0 home loss to London Irish last weekend, saw his men produce a brave display that returned just one losing bonus point. They remain too close to the bottom of the table for comfort, only three points separating them from Leeds.

Many will point to the red card shown by the referee, David Rose, to the England wing Matt Banahan, as the turning point in what was a hard-fought and bitty arm-wrestle of a match. Banahan was dismissed for reckless use of the boot – the touch judge having claimed, according to Meehan, that the wing had made contact with the head of Stephen Myler, Northampton's replacement fly-half, at a 66th-minute ruck.

"I don't think it's a red card at all," said Meehan. Jim Mallinder, Northampton's director of rugby, agreed, calling the decision "a bit harsh".

Leading at the time they were reduced to 14 men, Bath went further ahead when Nicky Little, their fly-half, landed a 72nd-minute penalty for 13-8. But Ben Foden and Jon Clarke sent Ashton in for his second try of the match and Myler converted for victory.

"We deserved to win so it's difficult to take," Meehan said. "I thought we played the better rugby. I think the supporters should be proud of the players. It's unfortunate to battle like that and come away with only one point."

Bath have gone seven Premiership matches without a win. Meehan has been at pains to stress that their struggles are not being caused by a lack of effort. His team gave as good as they got in an even first half here, with the try they conceded coming from Northampton's only foray into their opponents' 22.

Prior to Ashton's first score, however, Bath's scrum had been given a going-over on a number of occasions by a Northampton pack boosted by the return of the Scotland and Lions prop Euan Murray. Bath conceded two penalties from such situations. Shane Geraghty scuffed one of them – in the third minute – embarrassingly along the floor but the No 10, who was away with England last month, was on target in the 21st minute.

The visitors had already gone close, when Luke Watson was held up inches short following a barnstorming run down the left by Banahan, and Little subsequently levelled the scores with a simple, 26th-minute penalty. Bath then fell behind, as Ashton capitalised on turnover ball. The former Wigan rugby league wing, who was called up for England training in November, booted the ball into acres of space, outsprinted Michael Claassens, the Bath captain, and kicked on before diving over in the corner. It was further proof of the 22-year-old's impressive opportunism, after he scored a hat-trick in Northampton's win at Newcastle a week last Friday.

Shontayne Hape's 47th-minute try in the right corner, which was superbly converted by Little, put Bath 10-8 ahead but then came Banahan's red card, only a few minutes after he was lucky to escape a yellow card for a late tackle on Ashton. The Northampton wing then had the last laugh with his late and winning try.

"He's on fire at the moment," Mallinder added.

Northampton: B Foden; C Ashton, J Clarke, J Downey, J Ansbro; S Geraghty (S Myler, 59), L Dickson; S Tonga'uiha, D Hartley (capt), E Murray (S Bonorino, 59), C Lawes (C Day, 64), J Kruger, P Dowson (S Gray, 59), R Wilson, N Best.

Bath: N Abendanon; M Stephenson, M Carraro, S Hape, M Banahan; N Little, M Claassens (capt); D Flatman, L Mears, D Wilson (D Bell, 61), D Grewcock (P Short, 43), S Hooper, A Beattie, L Watson, J Salvi.

Referee: D Rose (Warwickshire).