Two stunning drop goals by the substitute Andy Goode sent Newcastle into bottom place and eased the pressure on Saracens who now have five wins at the halfway stage of the Premiership.

Rob Andrew's fledgling Falcons side did pick up a bonus point, but the arrival of their new South African signing Mark Andrews can hardly come soon enough to shore up a vulnerable pack.

Goode, the former Leicester goalkicker, also landed a couple of vital long-range penalties that made the absence of England's Jonny Wilkinson doubly upsetting for the Newcastle coach.

"We played average football and still won," said Wayne Shelford, the Saracens coach, who pinpointed scrummaging as Newcastle's achilles heel.

Probably Andrew was a trifle optimistic in suggesting: "It would not have been a travesty had we ended up winning."

Poor ball retention, missed tackles, and ineffective forward play were some of the factors that contributed to Newcastle's fourth successive defeat, plunging them into the relegation zone. An all-round lack of experience will make it that much harder for the Tynesiders to turn pressure into points in future games and increase their meagre haul of three Premiership wins.

Saracens established so much territorial advantage that they ought to have built up an unassailable lead, yet Newcastle were able to maintain realistic hopes of salvaging points through sheer tenacity.

But the basics let them down and a bad lineout throw saw the Saracens hooker Matt Cairns score after a driving maul to put his team 8-3 ahead.

However, lineout errors of their own let Newcastle back into the game just when Saracens seemed to be heading for a 14-6 win. An improvised drive pushed the Saracens forwards back between their own posts, allowing the flanker Epi Taione to touch down.

Goode, though, came to the rescue with a marvellous second drop goal, flighting the ball home from 40 metres.

Saracens: Winnan; Haughton, Sorrell, Johnston, O'Mahony; Horan (Goode, 13), Bracken (capt); Califano, Cairns, Marsters (Flatman, h-t), Quinnell, Benazzi (Yandell, 76), Chesney, Roques, Russell.

Try: Cairns. Pens: Goode 2. Drop-goals: Goode 2.

Yellow card: Flatman, 43.

Newcastle: Shaw; Botham, Noon, May, Stephenson; Va'a, Grindal; Ward (Peel, 31) Thompson, Hurter (Isaacson, 67), Vyvyan, Hamilton, Taione, Dowson, Dunbar.

Try: Taione. Con: Va'a. Pens: Botham, Va'a.

Attendance: 5,742.

Referee: G Aston Jones (Wales).