Newcastle claim narrowest of victories after second-half scare

Newcastle held off a second-half fightback to edge to victory at a packed Kingston Park. Harlequins trailed 11-0 at half-time after a Vereniki Goneva try and two Tane Takulua penalties.

But the visitors roared back into the match after England full-back Mike Brown scored early after the break and Marcus Smith converted.

Suddenly the impetus was with Quins and Smith set up a pulsating finish when he landed a 67th-minute penalty to make it 11-10. Somehow, Newcastle managed to hang on.

However, it should never have been such a nail-biting game for the Falcons. They totally dominated the opening 20 minutes as Sinoti Sinoti and Goneva pummelled the Harlequins defence, with Toby Flood pulling the strings.

Given the Falcons’ possession, their half-time lead seemed scant reward. Within four minutes of the restart James Chisholm and Alofa Alofa smashed them apart and the ball was swiftly moved out to Brown for a simple try, converted by Smith.

Newcastle simply could not get their hands on the ball and when they did, they turned it over far too often. They also lost a potent weapon when Sinoti was forced to leave the field after a clash of heads.

Quins pinned them on their own line and when Smith kicked his penalty, it set up a tense finale.

Suddenly the impetus was with Quins