This was an exciting game that (for me anyway) just flew by. Bath controlled things throughout the first half and it was disappointing to only be 10-3 up at half time. But as we have seen in recent weeks, they struggled to keep up the pressure for the whole 80 minutes and the loss of Nick Walshe to the Sin Bin after 51 minutes almost proved too much as Newcastle came back in to the game following a try for Ollie Phillips on the hour. Newcastle then upped their performance and took the game by its scruff for the first time and a second try, this time from Anthony Elliot eleven minutes later appeared to be the sucker punch that would knock Bath out of the match. However a late try from Lee Best and superb touchline conversion from Chris Malone saved the day for the home side.

Squeaky was once again wearing his "I talk total bollocks but I don't care" hat on as he spoke to the press after the game, "I thought we were the better team even after an average first half when we were slow out of the blocks. We should have won it and it was hugely disappointing not to have closed it down." In my opinion a Falcons' win would not have been a true reflection of the match. Matt Burke apart, they looked ordinary for the first hour and it was only after they scored their first try that they had any drive or cohesion. They looked very much like the pre-Ashton Bath earlier in the season: slow, ponderous, lacking direction and not pretty to watch. 

The Bath clearance kicks struggled to find touch today and too often they found a counter attacking Matt Burke. Quite a few people around me were constantly moaning about this without thinking too much about the world class qualities of Burke, he looked a great full-back and would have tested the skills of any kicker.

The game got off to a flyer for Bath with a try from Salesi Finau after just five minutes. Chris Malone's conversion took the score to 7-0 and set up a great platform for the men in Blue, Black and White. The try came after Bath had secured a penalty on half-way. Instead of trying an early pot at goal, Malone kicked for touch and found the line deep in Victor's corner. The line-out was beautifully taken by Hudson who threw the ball to Walshe whilst at the top of his jump. Walshe fed Malone who floated a pass into the midriff of Finau who dashed twenty yards to the line. The ground erupted and suddenly the disappointment of last week was all but forgotten.

Bath extended their lead to 10-0 after 17 minutes with a Malone penalty. This followed another beautifully weighted Molly touch-finding penalty which led to a Hudson inspired line-out which ended up with the Falcons' being offside. Newcastle then looked as thought they were going to open their account but Ben Woods dropped the ball when it appeared he just had to cross the Bath goal-line to score. Burke redressed the balance slightly three minutes later with a penalty to make the half-time score 10-3 but he could have made it 10-6 had he not hit one of the metal flags on top of the posts with a late penalty attempt.

Bath extended their lead after just a few moments of the second half with another Malone penalty. As at last week's game Bath were looking very comfortable early in the second half but then Nick Walshe was binned for slapping at a ball coming out of a ruck and suddenly things started to fall apart. Two tries conceded and a previously static opposition gaining confidence and momentum took the game to the edge but the Bath players adopted the "never say die" attitude of the glory years and the whole ground went crazy as Lee Best touched down in the corner with three minutes to go. Once again the pressure fell on the strong shoulders of Chris Malone and he delivered the victory with a superbly directed touchline conversion. 

20-18, two minutes left and everyone biting their fingernails. As you would expect Newcastle threw everything they had at the Bath defence but could not breach it and the referee blew for no-side after Andy Beattie grabbed the ball and ran for touch. 

Today the Bath pack was in dominant mood throughout the game, although the referee appeared to suffer from similar problems to the guy last week and he penalised the front rows too often. Beattie and Short were powerful in the loose and Hudson in the line-outs, unfortunately Dixon wasn't always able to take full advantage of Hudson's powers and too often Bath lost momentum in this area. Take out Stevens, Mears, Grewcock and Borthwick and the pack ought to be lightweight, but it wasn't. However several times I thought Scaysbrook was going to find Anne Robinson tapping his shoulder as he looked their weakest link, in particular struggling with his control of the ball. Gareth Delve came on late in the game and looked much more comfortable.

Particular mention must go to Duncan Bell who appeared to be struggling with his back (again) after just a few moments. Sitting on the sidelines we can't feel the pain these guys endure to get through the 80 minutes, but you didn't need a Uri Geller degree in mind reading to see Belly was in difficulty: well done fella, it's that type of grit and determination which makes you a genuine Bath player!

Let's not forget the much criticised Bath backs. Not only are they running and offloading the ball at every opportunity, they appear to be tougher in the tackle and not backing off when taking some big hits. Crockett looked good as did Maddock, who took a massive hit identical to the one from Alix Popham last week. Matt Perry may not be the quickest player coming forward these days but he provided good sweeping cover at the back and stopped a certain try, before Newcastle grabbed their second, with a crunching tackle.

This was a good game, I thought Bath played well and any team capable of sending Squeaky home with a loss is fine by me!

Referee: Martin Fox

Photos: Big thanks to Juliet Bletsoe

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