For once, the biggest applause was not reserved for the news over the Tannoy that Gloucester's local rivals Bath had been defeated. Instead, raucous cheers came after the announcer had counted down the seconds to the final whistle at The Stoop confirming the demise of Harlequins, never a particular favourite in these parts.

Schadenfreude was all that remained for the Shedheads after the Cherry-and-Whites slumped to an unprecedented four successive home defeats - and who would bet against a fifth when Newcastle visit next Sunday for the European play-off, given Gloucester's injury crisis?

"Injuries? Lots of 'em, the standard field hospital," said their director of rugby Nigel Melville. "We are limping to the end of the season, using forwards as backs and scrum-halves as wings."

This predicament was summed up by the flanker James Forrester's appearance first at full-back and then in the centre, where, ironically, he produced Gloucester's best moment, linking with Luke Narraway to bamboozle Thomas Castaignède and set up James Bailey's try shortly after the hour.

So uninspired were Saracens, apart from Castaignède's breakout to make Ben Johnstone's try midway through the first half, that Bailey's score could have given Gloucester the match, had the referee David Rose not opted to award the visitors a controversial penalty try with 10 minutes remaining.

It came as the Saracens pack attempted to use their numerical advantage after Forrester had been sent to the sin-bin for offside. Gloucester pulled down a maul in their 22, and Rose went under the posts immediately, a decision the Gloucester coach Dean Ryan described as "rubbish - it was a game decider, it was incredible".

But, in truth, had his fly-half Duncan McRae not missed two straightforward penalty kicks, and ceded responsibility for a third to Andy Gomarsall, who was equally inaccurate, the moment would have been irrelevant. Saracens, however, ground out their first victory here since league fixtures began in 1987, but could derive no satisfaction from a performance riddled with poor discipline and low skill levels.

The four-try bonus point they needed to have a hope of going fourth in the event of Bath losing never looked within reach.

"I always said we would go to Europe the hard way," said the Saracens director of rugby Steve Diamond, who will at least have Mark Bartholomeusz fit at fly-half and Dan Scarbrough back on the wing for Worcester's visit on Friday.

Gloucester: Goodridge (Forrester, 29); Morgan, Simpson-Daniel, Fanolua (Page, 49), Bailey; McRae, Gomarsall; Wood (Sigley, 75), Davies (Azam, 55), Powell, Eustace, Brown, Boer (Buxton, 62), Hazell (Narraway, 32), Balding (capt).

Try: Bailey. Con: McRae. Pens: McRae 2.

Sin-bin: Forrester, 70

Saracens: Castaignède; Johnstone, Sorrell, Harris, Vaikona; Little (Jackson, 66), Bracken (Rauluni, 55); Yates (Lloyd, 46), Ibanez (Cairns, 46), Visagie, Chesney (Fullarton, 45), Raiwalui (Chesney, 58), Randell (Skirving, 66), Hill, Vyvyan.

Tries: Johnstone, Penalty try. Cons: Little 2.

Sin-bin: Vyvyan, 54

Referee: D Rose (RFU).

Attendance: 13,000.