Aviva Premiership: Newcastle Falcons 14-15 Worcester Warriors
Last Updated: 04/03/16 10:32pm
Worcester ended Newcastle's four-match home winning run in the Aviva Premiership with a narrow 15-14 victory at Kingston Park.
Newcastle had the opportunity to take the win through a Rob Vickers try with seven minutes left, leaving Craig Willis with a conversion attempt to earn a 16-15 victory.
But the fly-half pushed his kick well wide and Worcester held on for a vital win - their first victory away from home in the Aviva Premiership for two years - which leapfrogs them above Newcastle to 10th in the Premiership.
Despite an opening 15 minutes of constant pressure from Newcastle, highlighted by powerful runs from Alex Tait and Taione Vea, the home side were unable to break the deadlock until Andy Goode punished Worcester for straying offside with 15th-minute penalty.
Worcester went close to when Vuna chased a little stab through from Chris Pennell but Nili Latu just did enough to thwart the winger as the ball ran dead.
Goode was uncharacteristically off target with a 22nd-minute penalty after Chris Ryan's high tackle on Simon Hammersley but he made amends 10 minutes before the break when his kick ricocheted off both posts and over the bar.
Worcester finished the half better. Latu stepped offside in the 35th minute and Tom Heathcote missed a gilt-edged chance but right on half-time, Micky Young was caught hanging on and the Warriors put it in the corner and then drove
flanker Dewald Potgieter over for the try. Heathcote converted for a 7-6 interval lead.
Worcester looked to have done it again five minutes into the second half, with a penalty to the corner and a quick-fire series of drives which saw scrum-half Francois Hougaard go close. But he was ruled to have come up just short and Heathcote instead extended the Warriors' lead with a penalty.
Goode struck another penalty in the 53rd minute to cut the deficit to 10-9 but Warriors forwards were causing problems for the hosts and their pressure told in the 62nd when the Falcons simply could not get out of their own 22.
The ball was worked wide to winger Bryce Heem who broke through Marcus Watson's tackle for a try in the corner to make it 15-9, Heathcote's conversion attempt hitting the post.
Newcastle refused to give up on the match in the final 10 minutes and launched a late blitz, three times going to the corner with kickable penalties. Worcester skipper GJ van Velze was sin-binned and from the third catch and drive, prop Vickers was driven over and the try was awarded after a long TMO ruling.
With the score at 15-14, Willis lined up the conversion but he was well off target and as Watson also finished the match in the bin, Worcester went home with a one-point win.
