Mixed feelings for Tait

Newcastle boss Alan Tait admitted his side had not played well against Bath - but was delighted to get a losing bonus point.

Bath still believing they can make play-offs after narrow away win

Newcastle director of rugby Alan Tait was pleased with a point against Bath - but insisted his side must perform better in the return fixture next weekend. The Falcons clinched a late bonus point at Kingston Park thanks to a debatable try from Luke Fielden, who won the race to Tane Tu'ipulotu's kick. The score could prove crucial in the final reckoning as the north east club now find themselves two points clear of basement dwellers Leeds with one round of games to go in the season. Although the Tykes are now going to need a win away at Northampton on the final day of fixtures to relegate Newcastle, Tait is demanding his players go to the Rec next Saturday and get a positive result.

Nervy

"I asked Luke if he'd scored and he shrugged his shoulders, so there you go," he said afterwards. "But given the fact we've been on the end of some really contentious decisions this season, we'll take that one. "It was a great kick from Tane and he's moving on at the end of the season so he's paid us back big time with that kick. "We were very nervy and we couldn't get anything going at the scrum, at the line-out or in the backs. "You name it, we couldn't get anything going and we have to learn to keep the ball. "We have to go to Bath and get a result. We have to go there believing we can win because we really didn't perform today although we are pleased with the point." Bath, in contrast, can still sneak a play-off place after the slender 14-11 win - their fourth in a row in the Aviva Premiership. The positive result confirmed their place in next season's Heineken Cup and moved them four points behind the fourth-placed Saints.

Main aims

"We had two main aims going into this match. The first was to secure Heineken Cup qualification and the second was get to the last game of the season with the target of making the Premiership play-offs," Bath defence coach brad Davis said. "We have done that, we have taken it to the last day of the season and now we have to finish off the job." They had to grind out their victory, though, with Michael Claassens scoring their only try in the first-half; they relied on two penalties from Butch James as well as another three points from Sam Vesty to secure the triumph. "We would have liked to have scored more tries but Newcastle fought hard as you would expect from a side battling to stay up," Davis added. "We had to make numerous changes and that disrupted our game."